


Week Zero

by namelesslunitic



Category: Family Guy
Genre: Chatting & Messaging, Drama, Love Letters, M/M, Romance, adultxbaby, dogxbaby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-22
Updated: 2012-04-28
Packaged: 2017-11-22 19:47:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namelesslunitic/pseuds/namelesslunitic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Brian's life is about to change, and it all begins with a little Sunday mail delivery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sunday: Secret Admirer?

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Family Guy or any of these characters.

Brian couldn't sleep. He was currently lying at the foot of Peter and Lois's bed, eyes shut tightly, with the house unusually silent, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to allow himself to drift off into a relaxing slumber. There was simply too much on his mind at the moment, and he couldn't bring himself to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest brought on by it all, no matter how exhausted he actually was. It was driving him crazy. His eyes shot open in frustration, and he let out a low, quiet growl in annoyance at himself for allowing his brooding to get in the way of a good night's rest. He looked over at the digital clock. It read  **2:17**. He sighed. There was only one person he needed to talk to right now. Unfortunately, it was way too late to even be considering going to bug that person with his personal issues. He repositioned himself and shut his eyes again, trying in vain to clear his head of all the depressing thoughts currently bombarding him. After what felt like a good length of time, he gave up again. He opened his eyes and looked back at the clock. It read **2:20**.

_Fuck it._

He sat up and hopped off the bed before quietly making his way out of the bedroom and down the hall toward the room currently occupied by the one person he needed to see. When he reached the appropriate door, he stopped for a minute to reconsider what he was about to do but quickly realized that if he turned back now, there was little to no chance of him getting any sleep that night. With his mind made up, he grabbed the door knob, turned it, and tiptoed his way into the room before carefully closing the door behind him. The room was almost pitch black, aside from the small bit of light coming in from the streetlight outside, and completely quiet, except for the faint sound of snoring coming from the nearby crib. Brian slowly shuffled his way over toward the crib and whispered.

"Stewie? Are you awake?"

Unsurprisingly, there was no response, but this didn't stop the dog. Once he was standing by the crib he leaned in toward the sleeping child and spoke again.

"Stewie."

He reached through the bars and pushed on the boy, trying as best as he could to gently wake the boy up. The infant responded by grimacing and rolling over in an attempt to ignore the disruption of his deep sleep. Brian waited a moment before speaking again.

"Stewie."

He pushed on the boy again with a little more force than before. In response, Stewie slowly rolled over and gazed at the dog, groggy and obviously annoyed. He yawned.

"What the hell, Brian! Do you have any idea how late it is!?"

The dog ignored the question. He hadn't come here to get into a fight.

"I couldn't sleep. I just…have a lot on my mind at the moment."

The child's expression softened a bit. After a couple of seconds, he finally responded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Brian sat down but kept his gaze on the boy.

"That's kind of the point of me coming in here. I'm sorry about waking you, but…"

He looked down.

"Talking with you usually helps when I get like this."

Stewie sat up, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms before standing up on wobbly legs and carefully climbing out of his crib to join his friend in a sitting position on the floor.

"So what's bothering you?"

Brian felt a hand being placed on his leg and stiffened at the contact but made no attempt to move away.

"Everything's bothering me, Stewie."

There was a sigh followed by a brief pause before he continued.

"I just can't help thinking about how meaningless my life will be in the long run. I mean, more than likely, over half of my life has come and gone, and what do I have to show for it? I have all these hopes and dreams, but they all seem so far out of reach. I'm a failure at pretty much everything I've ever attempted, especially with my sorry attempts to become a famous writer. My love life is a complete and total train wreck. There's this burning desire within me to find someone that I can share my life with, but at this point, I just don't think that's ever going to happen. Besides, even if I did finally meet someone like that, is my life even worth sharing? What the hell does a mutt like me have to offer anyone?"

The dog had more to say, but he was cut off by Stewie suddenly speaking up.

"Stop. Just stop, Brian."

The child's tone was one of annoyance, but his face was one of worry. He seemed to mumble something to himself, something about hating hearing the dog talk like this, but Brian couldn't make it all out. When he was done, a bit of anger found its way into the boy's expression.

"I understand you're not happy with your life, but don't you ever say it's meaningless because that's a fucking lie, and you know it."

The child's face was now stern, almost like he was scolding the canine. Brian's jaw fell a little. This wasn't exactly what he was expecting. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of anything appropriate for a response. When it was clear that he had nothing to say, Stewie continued.

"Think about all you've done for this family. Peter would have been long dead if you hadn't stuck by his side all those many times he went and did something completely moronic. You've provided sound advice for Chris and Meg whenever they've needed it. As for Lois…"

He stopped for a minute as if he was struggling to get his next sentence out.

"If she didn't have someone like you to talk to, I'm pretty sure she would have flown off the deep end a long time ago. This family needs you, Brian. I don't even want to think about where it would be without you. You may see yourself as a failure, but really, you're the only thing keeping this family together half of the time. If that's not an accomplishment, I don't know what is."

At that, the dog let out a small chuckle, which seemed to get a small grin from the boy in return. He thought about what Stewie had just said and mulled it over. This was why he came to Stewie. The kid always knew just the right words to say to help him see the brighter side of things. Stewie was right, too. His life did have importance. Maybe it wasn't the kind of importance he strived for, but it was still a meaningful importance. It was just easy to lose sight of that sometimes, but Stewie was always there to help put things in perspective for him when he needed it. They all needed him: Peter, Chris, Meg, and Lois. With that thought, it dawned on him that the child had left out one family member in particular.

"And what about you, Stewie?"

The infant looked at him confused.

"What about me?"

Brian tilted his head. Did the boy really not realize that he had failed to mention himself?

"You talked about all the things I do for the family, but you never mentioned yourself. What? Do you not need me or something?"

The dog's voice took on a playful tone. He knew good and well that he meant a lot to Stewie, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy hearing it. The child seemed to grow nervous, and he redirected his gaze toward the floor.

"You're…the most important thing in my life, Brian. There's not much else that needs to be said."

A warm smile formed across the canine's face. Suddenly all those thoughts that had been bugging him before didn't seem that important.

"Thanks, Stewie."

The boy looked back up and smiled back.

"Anytime."

There was an awkward pause before Stewie finally spoke up.

"Soooo…I take that smile to mean that you're feeling better. Can we go to sleep now?"

Brian laughed and nodded his head. He picked up Stewie and went to return the baby to his crib, but the child stopped him.

"Wait."

The dog looked at the boy to see what was wrong.

"Stay here with me. After all, it's the least you could do after waking me up at such a late hour."

Brian was already planning on spending the night in Stewie's room, but knowing that the child wanted him there felt indescribably good. Before he knew what he was doing, he responded, teasingly

"What? Do you want me to sleep beside you, too?"

It almost sounded like a joke, but really, a part of Brian was hoping the boy said yes. The question seemed to catch Stewie off guard, but he was still quick to respond by slowly nodding his head with an adorable smile plastered on his face. Brian grabbed Stewie's pillow and blanket and made a spot for the two of them on the floor. When he was done, he laid Stewie down on the pillow and tucked him into the blanket before taking a spot beside the boy and instinctively wrapping an arm around him.

"Goodnight, Stewie."

The boy yawned.

"Goodnight, Brian."

It wasn't long before they both fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Brian awoke to find himself alone. The pillow and blanket were still there, but Stewie was nowhere in sight. He sat up, yawned, and stretched as he thought back on what had transpired the night before. He thought about how strange both he and Stewie had acted after Stewie had provided him comfort. Sure they both cared about each other, but they hardly ever acted like…that. He wasn't sure how to feel about it.

 _We must have both been_ really  _tired_.

That must have been it. It was really late. Neither one of them was really thinking clearly. That would explain the overly mushy attitudes they both had. He was too exhausted to bother with keeping his wall up, and Stewie probably just enjoyed the rare moment where they could be openly affectionate for one another. It's not like it was bad thing, though, just a little weird. Brian decided not to think about it any further. There was really no point in trying to analyze every little moment he shared with Stewie. Their relationship was complicated, to say the least, but it was still a relationship he cherished. He stood up and exited the room. He went downstairs, and after a quick search, he realized that no one was home. Then, he remembered what day it was.

_Sunday. They must have gone to church or something._

Just then, he heard a beep. His ears perked up at the sound he recognized to be his cell phone. He walked into the kitchen to retrieve the phone which was currently on the table, charging. First, he looked to see what time it was. According to the clock on his phone, it was only a few minutes after one.

_I knew I had slept in, but I didn't think I had slept through the entire morning._

He didn't like that he had allowed so much of the day to be wasted, but there was no sense in dwelling on it now. He put that issue behind him and looked to see what had been causing his phone to beep. The bar at the top had an envelope icon on display, indicating that he had unchecked text messages. A few button presses later, and he saw that it was actually just one text message from a number he didn't recognize. Curiosity peaked, he opened it.

**Check the mail.**

_What?_

A paw went up to scratch behind his neck in confusion. It was Sunday. The mail didn't run on Sunday, and even if it did, what stranger would send him a message reminding him to check it. He shrugged and closed the phone. After setting it back down on the table, he turned to head toward the front door. The day's paper was nowhere in sight, so he figured the family must have forgotten to grab it before heading out. He opened the door, and sure enough, the paper was still out on the lawn. He walked outside to retrieve it but stopped when his eyes caught the sight of the Griffin mailbox. His mind went back to the text he had just read. Why had he gotten it? He thought about it seriously for a minute and came to a conclusion. Logically, either one of two things probably happened. Either this was some kind of prank, or someone had sent the text to the wrong number while also forgetting that the mail didn't run that day. Actually, scratch that last bit. It had to be a prank waiting to happen. The more he thought about it, the more the situation began to bug him. It didn't take long for him to redirect his path toward the mailbox. He had to know if something was up with that message, and even if it was a prank, at least he saw it coming.

_What harm could there be in just checking?_

After arriving at the mailbox, he paused a minute before reaching out to open its door. He carefully opened it enough so he could peek inside without opening it all the way. It looked empty, and he couldn't really detect anything wrong coming from inside. Satisfied, he opened it the rest of the way and reached in. At first he didn't feel anything, but just as he was about to pull out, his paw brushed against something pressed to the side. He felt it for a second before finally grabbing it and pulling it out. The object was a single white envelope.

_Oooooook? Is this for me?_

It took awhile for him to take his focus off of the mystery envelope. When he finally did, he closed the mailbox, retrieved the newspaper, and walked back inside the house. He took a seat on the couch and tossed the newspaper to the side for the moment. He had no idea what this thing could possibly be let alone who hell it could be from, but this didn't stop him from making quick work of unsealing the envelope. He opened it and pulled out a piece of white paper that had been folded into thirds so it would fit. He set the envelope down and unfolded the paper. At the top were typed two words,  **Dearest Brian**. It was a typed letter on printer paper. Intrigued, Brian began reading again.

**Dearest Brian,**

**In the event that you actually end up receiving this letter in the manner I intended, I'd like to go ahead and explain why I did things the way I did. I know this must seem like a roundabout way of getting this letter to you, but you have to understand that I needed to find a way to get this to you privately, and the whole text message thing actually ended up being the simplest way I could think of. The fact that I gave you this letter on a Sunday is a mere coincidence that simply provided a slight bit of extra complication, but hopefully, it all worked out in the end and you're sitting at home, alone, reading this for the first time. If you choose to share this with others after this initial reading, that's your business, but I wanted you to be able to read this first letter from me in a nice, peaceful environment because I have a lot that I need to get off my chest, and I'm hoping that you don't see this as some kind of joke because it's not, and I'm being completely serious. Anyway, I figured I at least owed you an explanation for the strange circumstances under which you received this letter, and I'm hoping you didn't find it too strange because then you'd think I'm some kind of weirdo or something, and I'd hate for that to happen.**

**Now that that's out of the way, I can move on to the reason I wrote this letter in the first place. To put things simply, I'm in love with you, Brian, and it's driving me crazy! Still, I can't bring myself to openly confess my love directly to you because I'm afraid you'll reject me. I know, I'm pathetic, but I can't help it! At least this way, I can finally tell you this without giving away my identity. Maybe one day I'll finally come out and say how I feel openly, but for right now, this will have to do. Really, I already feel a lot better after typing just those few sentences. I'm not sure how this will seem coming from a "stranger", but maybe, you'll actually find it kind of nice that there's someone out there that feels this way about you. I know you haven't had the best of luck in the romance department, and I know how much you desperately want to find someone to love that will love you in return. I want to be that person, Brian. I want it more than anything…**

**When I see you with someone else, my blood begins to boil, and I hate watching you throw yourself out there for all these women who don't deserve you and who refuse to give you the love and respect you rightfully deserve. I hate seeing how upset they make you when things don't work out. It breaks my heart to see you so upset after a break-up or after simply being rejected. I'd give anything to have the opportunity they had to be with you, and I definitely wouldn't do something so moronic as to squander it. Those bimbos just don't know what they let get away, but I suppose I should be grateful for their stupidity because that at least keeps you available, but I know, one day, that might not be the case anymore, and that fact breaks my heart just as much. Don't get me wrong, Brian. I want you to be happy, but I'd greatly prefer it if you could be happy with me. Maybe that's wrong of me. It's really the weirdest thing. Every time you start dating someone, I hope that things don't work out, but then, I see how upset you get, and I feel guilty for thinking that, and then you find someone else, and I want them to dump you again. It's a seemingly never ending cycle that's really beginning to take its toll on me. Moving on, though, what I'm trying to say, Brian, is that those women don't understand you. They don't deserve to understand you. They've done nothing to earn that, but that's ok because** _**I** _ **understand you, Brian, and I just know that, if you give me a chance, I can fill that empty space in your heart. I know that sounds sappy, but damn it, I mean every fucking word! They're words you need to hear, and if no one else will say them, I'll gladly be the one to do so.**

**I guess that's really all I have to say right now. I might write more, later. If I do, you'll be able to find my letters just like you found this one, in the mailbox and encased in a blank white envelope. It would probably be a good idea to try and be the first one to check the mail in the mornings. I'd hate it if you ended up losing one of my letters, that is unless you just have no interest in reading anymore from me, but hopefully, that won't be the case. I love you, Brian, and I hope that this letter will serve as the first step toward eventually telling you those words myself.**

**Love,**

**Your Secret Admirer**

Brian finished reading the letter, mouth agape. There was only one thing on his mind.

_Who wrote this?_

He could feel a warm feeling spreading throughout his body. Just the fact that there was somebody out there that wrote something like this for him made him feel completely elated. He was so caught up in his joy that he almost didn't notice the door open, announcing the return of the family from Sunday Mass. He set the letter down and turned to greet the family but was interrupted by Lois fussing at Peter.

"It was completely inexcusably, Peter! I asked you to watch Stewie for a  _second_ , and you let him run off to do only God knows what! We're lucky he was right outside! Anyone could have just walked off with him, and we wouldn't have had a clue!"

The rest of the family filed in. Chris and Meg made a beeline for the staircase, obviously wanting to get away from their arguing parents. Stewie was currently being held by Lois with a look on his face that showed he was greatly annoyed at the moment by his mother's nagging, and Peter was shuffling his way over to the couch while making up an excuse for being such an inattentive parent.

"It wasn't my fault, Lois!"

He sat down.

"The kid's fast. I took my eyes off of em for barely a second, and he was just gone. Besides, what's the big deal? Like ya said, he was right outside. He probably just wanted to play or something. I say, let em run around if he wants. It'll teach em some independence."

At this, Lois set Stewie down and went to stand in front of Peter.

"Independence!? He's just a baby, Peter! Do you not care about the wellbeing of your own son!? How would you feel if we hadn't found him? What would you tell me then, 'Ah, well, gee, Lois, it'll do him some good to get out into the real world.'!?"

Peter had a look on his face that made it very clear he wasn't taking what Lois was saying seriously. He stood up.

"For crying out loud, Lois! Stewie is fine! He's right here, safe and sound at home. Why are ya still houndin' me about this!"

Lois sighed, exasperated.

"Never mind, Peter. I can't keep fighting you about this. Just try to be more attentive from now on, please."

Peter smiled.

"Sure thing, Lois. I won't let the boy out of my sight for even a second next time. You'll see."

It was a hollow promise, and Brian could tell that Lois knew it. She smiled back anyway, though, and the two of them turned to head upstairs to their room. Once they were gone, Stewie walked over and joined him on the couch.

"Thank God that particular fight is over. I swear I was this close to strangling that woman. There's only so much of that annoying voice I can take."

Brian looked over at his little buddy.

"You know, she only got that way because she cares about you."

The child scoffed.

"She had nothing to worry about. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself anyway."

He motioned toward Brian.

"So, what have you been up to?"

Brian then remembered what he had been doing before being interrupted by Peter and Lois's bickering, and that warm feeling he had felt returned in full force. He eagerly began explaining what just happened.

"Well, I woke up only a little while ago. I wasn't too happy about sleeping through the morning, but I guess, I needed it after last night. Anyway, the strangest thing happened today."

He paused, prompting Stewie to speak.

"Ok, so what happened?"

Brian turned so that he was fully facing Stewie as he recounted the events of his day.

"Alright, so I came downstairs looking for you guys, but then, I heard my phone beeping from the kitchen. I went and checked it, and someone had sent me a text telling me to check the mail."

He paused again, wanting to hear what Stewie had to say. When the child said nothing, he continued.

"After that, I went outside to get the newspaper, but while I was out there, I decided to go ahead and see if there was actually something in the mailbox, and wouldn't you know it, I found an unmarked envelope, so I took it inside, opened it, and found a letter meant for me from a secret admirer."

Stewie's eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Oh, really? Where is it?"

Brian reached behind himself and grabbed the letter to show Stewie. After making sure it was alright for him to take it, Stewie grabbed it and appeared to skim it over. A smile formed across his face.

"Oh, wow. Someone's got it bad for you, Old Man. Who do you think it is?"

The dog shrugged.

"Honestly, I have no clue. With the way it's written, it sounds like it might be somebody I already know, but I'm not sure who that could be because the text came from an unknown number."

The child handed the letter back to Brian.

"Well, I must say, whoever it is seems like quite a catch. That was quite the competently written letter. I would have expected a little something more...not so good from the type of person you usually attract."

The dog rolled his eyes at Stewie's comment and responded sarcastically.

"Thanks."

But even Stewie's jabs weren't enough to put a damper on his mood. The two exchanged a smile before Stewie hopped down off of the couch.

"Keep me posted on this "secret admirer". I must admit, I'm extremely curious to see how this all plays out."

Brian began refolding the letter as he answered.

"Trust me. You'll be the first to know if anything happens."

Satisfied with the dog's response, Stewie turned to head up to his room. With the letter now refolded, Brian placed it back in the envelope, he'd decided to keep it. Even if this was just a one-time thing, having something like this would still mean a lot, but hopefully, there would be more to come. Maybe this whole secret admirer business would lead to him discovering his soul mate. He chuckled. Ok, maybe that was a little overly optimistic, but at least, he was actually in an optimistic mood for once. The whole thing was still a little strange, if not suspicious. Stuff like this didn't happen to him…ever, but he was willing to see where this went. Envelope in hand, he jumped off the couch and went to put it away with his other things.

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. After putting away his letter, Brian finally got around to reading the newspaper he had retrieved earlier. The rest of the family spent most of the afternoon in their respective rooms, but eventually, Lois came down to get started on dinner, which didn't seem to take too long to throw together. When the time came for everybody to come down and eat, Brian decided not to share the events of his day or the letter with anyone at the dinner conversation. The rest of the family probably wouldn't take it seriously and just joke about it, especially Peter and Lois.

The dinner passed by relatively normally, at least by Griffin standards. Stewie didn't bring the letter up again, but he and Brian still talked a little here and there. Everyone else talked about other things like that day at church or what they had planned for the next day, the usual stuff. Most of the time, Brian was too caught up in his own thoughts to pay too much attention to what was going on. He was the first to finish his meal and the first one in the living room for the family's regular nightly TV time. Time seemed to fly by, and before he knew it, everybody was heading off to bed. He followed suit, walking upstairs to Peter and Lois's room and taking his regular spot at the foot of their bed. When the lights went out and the house went silent, he found it extremely easy to fall into a nice relaxing sleep. It was the most at peace he had been in a long time, and he couldn't wait to begin the new day.


	2. Monday: A (Mostly) Good Day

Brian woke up at the first sign of sunlight, feeling completely rejuvenated. He sat up, stretched, and hopped off the bed before exiting into the hallway and heading toward the bathroom to prepare for the day. After a quick shower, he exited the bathroom and made his way downstairs. Having thought he was the first one up, he was surprised to find Stewie already downstairs by the couch.

"Stewie? What are you doing up so early?"

As Brian finished his decent down the stairs, Stewie began making his way over toward the dog.

"I woke up and was hungry. I had no idea it was so early, though. The others won't be up for another half hour or so."

Brian nodded his head in understanding and motioned for Stewie to follow him.

"Come on. I'll get you something to eat."

The two of them walked side by side into the kitchen. Stewie climbed up into his highchair, and Brian pulled up a chair so he could reach the pantry.

"Is cereal ok?"

The boy turned his head to address the dog.

"Yeah, that'll be fine."

Brian grabbed a box of cereal and retrieved a bowl, a spoon, and the gallon jug of milk in the fridge. He walked over to the table and fixed Stewie a bowl of cereal. He handed the bowl to the child, who took it eagerly and wasted no time in taking his first bite. Brian took a seat beside Stewie, and after a few more bites, the infant turned to talk to him.

"Thanks, Brian. I don't know why, but I was really hungry when I woke up, and it would have been awhile before Lois came down and got to work on breakfast. I really appreciate this."

The dog just shrugged.

"Eh, don't mention it. It's not like it takes a genius to fix a bowl of cereal, and I'm really just glad that someone else is up besides me. I was about to just sit down to watch some television until everyone else woke up, but I prefer actually having someone to talk to."

Stewie smiled at him.

"Likewise."

He took a couple more bites before speaking again.

"You got anything planned for today?"

Brian shook his head.

"Not really. The only thing I'm really focused on right now is that letter from yesterday. I'm hoping that another one comes today."

At this, Stewie's expression turned serious.

"So, you're really taking this whole secret admirer thing seriously. You're actually interested in hearing more from this person?"

The dog smiled and rubbed behind his neck.

"Well…yeah. How could I not be? When somebody says those kinds of things about you, you don't just ignore it. Why? Do you not think it's worth taking seriously?"

Stewie shook his vehemently.

"What? No, no, no. Not at all. I think it's good that you're taking it seriously, but I have to ask, what would you do if this person wasn't exactly your type?"

Brian tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

Stewie pushed his finished bowl to the side and turned so that he could better face Brian.

"I mean, you usually only go after a particular type of person. What if this person is nothing like that? Would you still give them a chance?"

The dog understood what Stewie was getting at, and really, it was a valid question. Brian didn't want to consider himself shallow, but the truth was he did put a lot of value in a person's appearance when considering whether or not he'd be interested in dating them. Of course, all guys did that to a degree, so could he really be faulted for that? It's not like he was looking for a super model or anything, but it would be nice if this girl was at least somewhat pretty. Then again, it was pretty clear that this person did care about him quite a bit, and what were the odds of him coming across someone like that ever again? It was a hard question to answer, but Brian wanted to believe that he'd have the decency to at least give this girl a chance, no matter who it ended up being. After thinking about it for a while, he finally answered.

"You know what, I really think I would. Whoever it is obviously really cares about me, and they were willing to go through all the trouble of doing something like that, so I think it would be wrong to not at least give her a chance."

Stewie's face remained blank for a moment before allowing a small smile to make its way across his features. Before he could respond, however, the two of them heard the sound of someone making their way down the stairs. They turned toward the doorway and soon learned that it was Lois. She looked at them confused.

"Brian, what are you and Stewie doing down here so early?"

Brian grabbed Stewie's bowl and took it to the sink to rinse it out as he explained.

"Well, I woke up about an hour ago, and I didn't really feel like going back to bed, so I got up. Stewie woke up soon afterwards. He was hungry, so I got him some cereal to eat."

It took Lois a minute to register what Brian was saying. She looked like she was still really tired. Finally, she replied.

"Oh, well, thank you, Brian. I guess that means you can watch him in the living room while I get breakfast ready for everyone else."

Brian grabbed a towel to dry his paws as he responded.

"Sure thing, Lois. Me and Stewie will go in the living room and watch a little TV while everybody else gets ready."

Hearing this, Stewie quickly climbed out of his highchair and began walking towards the living room couch. With his paws dry, Brian set the towel down on the counter and went to join Stewie. He grabbed the remote and flipped the television on to the usual early morning children's programming. After making sure Stewie was content with what was on, Brian set the remote down and nestled himself into the couch to wait. He turned his head and looked out the window at the mailbox. The anticipation was almost too much. He was really hoping there was another letter inside.

Brian and Stewie sat watching TV for a little over half an hour before everyone else finally came downstairs to eat. Brian joined them, leaving Stewie on the couch to finish the show that was on at the time. He made quick work of the meal, but it seemed like it took forever for everyone else to finish and head out the door for either school or, in Peter's case, work. Lois set to work clearing the table, and Brian took the opportunity to head outside and see if there was another letter waiting for him in the mailbox. He practically jogged to the curb, and eagerly opened the door of the mailbox. He reached inside and felt a familiar object. He pulled it out, and sure enough, it was another blank white envelope. He made his way back into the house, forgetting to close the mailbox door while caught up in his excitement. He rejoined Stewie on the couch and began opening the envelope. Stewie looked over and saw what he was doing.

"You know, Brian. If you'd prefer to read that alone, I could disappear for a few minutes or something."

After finishing opening the envelope Brian refocused his attention on Stewie.

"I don't really have a problem reading this next to you, but I wouldn't mind a little privacy…for a few minutes at least."

Point taken, Stewie nodded his head to show Brian he understood and jumped off of the couch to head up to his room. Brian pulled the letter out of the envelope, unfolded it, and began reading.

**Dearest Brian,**

**I was initially on the fence about whether or not to send you another letter, but after finishing the first one, I couldn't help but continue. If nothing else, these letters can serve as a much needed outlet for my bottled up feelings. The only thing is I'm not really sure what I should say in this next letter. I mean, there's plenty more to say, but it's just a matter of finding the right way of saying it. I guess I'll just have to start with the basics.**

**I've been in love with you for a while, Brian. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of my feelings for you. To be honest, they scared me a little because I knew the odds of you ever accepting my feelings were almost nonexistent. At least, that's how it used to be. Now, I'm not really sure how you'd react if I confronted you personally about my love. I've come really close to confessing how I feel on quite a few occasions now, but every time I think that the time is right for me to come out about it, I lose my resolve and chicken out. It really is painful to feel this way and not be able to do anything about it, but the pain I'd feel from being turned down by you would be ten times worse. I just feel stuck. I don't blame you for that, though. After all, it's not like you intended for me to fall so hard for you. It just happened, and even though it hurts, I wouldn't give it up for anything because I couldn't imagine my life not knowing you.**

**Just to make something clear, I'm not some psycho stalker who you've never met. You do know me, but that's all I really feel comfortable telling you at this point in time. My love for you is real, and your wellbeing will always come first. I'm not going to do what Meg did by kidnapping you and forcing myself onto you. If things ever work out between us, I want it to be because it's what we both want not because it's what I need.**

**I made a claim in my last letter that I understand you, and while it's true that I do understand you in a way that I'm pretty sure no else does, I feel I should at least backup my claim so it doesn't seem like I'm saying things just to make you love me. I get it, Brian. I get your struggles. I understand you're constantly trying to find meaning in your life. I understand how difficult it is for you, being a dog but, at the same time, so human and in many ways superior to the average person. I understand that sometimes you don't feel like you get the respect you deserve, and I understand that sometimes you feel like maybe you don't deserve that respect after all. I know you sometimes see your existence as some sort of mistake and that maybe there really is no place for you besides just being the Griffin family dog, but you're so much more than that Brian, especially to me. You just have a bad habit of getting obsessed over petty little things, and it's done nothing but hurt you in the long run. Listen, you don't need to prove yourself to anyone, and the sooner you realize that, the sooner you'll be content with your life, I think. So what if Quagmire hates you. Why should that matter? The man's a fucking psychopath who doesn't care about anything but sex and does extremely terrible things to get it. You may be a little woman crazy, Brian, but you've never stooped as low as he has, so he has no right to talk about you. I mean, you're not perfect, nobody is, but for the most part, you're actually a really decent and smart guy, and you shouldn't need anyone to tell you that. You don't need to be a famous writer, you don't need every woman's approval, and you don't need to worry about your place in the world because, whether you realize it or not, you're surrounded by people who do care about you even if sometimes it doesn't seem that way.**

**Oh, wow, that ended up going all over the place, but I think I made my point. I hope you take what I wrote seriously, Brian. I just want you to be happy, and if this ends up helping you even just a little bit, I, myself, will be extremely happy. Have a good day, Brian.**

**Love,**

**Your Secret Admirer**

Brian was stunned.

_Th-this just might be the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me._

He was experiencing a whirlwind of emotions: joy from the fact that there was someone out there that took the time to get him like this, confusion from the fact that even though this person said he knew who they were he still had no clue who could have possibly wrote these things, and love despite him not knowing who this mystery person was. That next to last paragraph had been a lot to take in, especially, but he couldn't deny the fact that it was probably something he'd needed to hear for a long time. Whoever this person was, it was pretty clear they understood him intimately. It was becoming harder and harder to not grow seriously attached to whoever was sending these letters. Just then, Lois walked into the room. Brian made sure to keep the letter out of sight as he turned to address her.

"So, what's the plan for today, Lois?"

Lois stopped at the stairs and turned to answer Brian.

"Well, I need to go and get my grocery shopping done for the week along with some other errands. I was just heading upstairs to dress Stewie for the day, and then, I was going to take him out with me. Why? Did you have something you wanted to do today?"

Brian was hoping to have some time to discuss his new letter with Stewie, but if Lois was planning on leaving with him so soon, it didn't look like he was going to get that chance until later. Of course, he could tag along with them for the day, but he was having such a good morning, and he really didn't feel like following Lois around while she ran errands. He did want to get out of the house, though. He didn't really feel like staying cooped up inside all day. He wanted to do…something. A day out sounded really good right now. The solution here was obvious. He shook his head at Lois's previous question.

"Well, not really. I think I might just spend the day out and about, you know, getting some fresh air. It's a nice day, and there's no reason to waste it by staying inside the entire time. If you want, I could take Stewie off your hands for the day and take him with me. I'm sure that would be a big help to you."

Lois took a minute to consider Brian's proposal before responding.

"If you really wouldn't mind, I suppose that would make getting things done a little easier. He can be a handful sometimes. Are you sure, Brian?"

The dog hopped off of the couch and nodded his head.

"Sure thing. We could use as a little bonding time, and you should know I'll take good care of him."

Satisfied with the dog's answer, Lois turned to head up the stairs.

"Alright then. I'll go get him ready."

A little while after she disappeared up the stairs, Brian could hear her cooing at her son.

"Good morning, my sweet little angel! Would you like to spend the day with Brian!?"

* * *

Brian finished buckling Stewie into his car seat and shut the passenger side door before walking around to hop into his driver's seat. He cranked the engine and pulled out of the driveway to head for downtown. It wasn't long before Stewie spoke up.

"Where are we going, Brian?"

Brian gave him a sideways glance, making sure to keep his eyes on the road.

"Somewhere where we can talk. I was thinking the ice cream shop, unless you can think of someplace better."

Stewie shook his head.

"No, that sounds fine, but what did you want to talk about?"

Brian took his left paw off of the steering wheel and reached over to the side to retrieve the letter he had put in his car earlier. He handed it to Stewie.

"I got another letter, and I don't know…I just…I need to discuss it with someone who isn't going to mock me about it. I'll say more once we get to the shop. Hopefully, our regular table outside is available."

He looked over at Stewie and motioned toward the letter.

"Feel free to read through it. I want your opinion on it."

Stewie nodded his head and set to work unfolding the paper so he could read it. By the time he was done, they had reached the ice cream shop. Brian hopped out of the car and told Stewie to go ahead and save their table while he went inside to get their usual orders. A couple of minutes later, he walked out and handed Stewie one of the two ice cream cones he was now holding in his paws before taking his seat beside the child. There was a moment of awkward silence as they both took several licks from their ice cream cones. Finally, Brian looked over toward Stewie to address the boy.

"So, what did you think?"

Stewie stopped licking his cone and turned to face Brian.

"About the letter?"

Brian nodded his head. Stewie appeared to think about it for a moment before responding to the question.

"I don't really know what you want me to say, Brian. I mean, it's obvious this person really likes you and that they've made a conscious effort to try and understand who you are as a person. Me, personally, I agree with everything that was written in that letter, and I think you should really take those words to heart the next time you're feeling down about life and struggling with your depression. It's basically what I've been telling you for a while now, but if it took that person saying it for you to finally get it, then I'm happy they took the initiative."

The boy went back to licking his ice cream. Brian sat back in his chair.

"Yeah. I get that. It's not like I don't listen to you, Stewie. Whether or not I show it enough, your advice does help me. I've just…never had it explained like that to me before from someone that feels that way about me, and I guess…that gives it a little more weight."

He sighed.

"I don't know. I realize that I do the same stupid shit over and over, but that's only because of how desperate I get sometimes, but now, for the first time ever, there's a real chance that I might I have found someone that makes me…happy."

He smiled.

"It's silly really, but I just know from simply reading these letters that, if I ever do meet this person, it's going to be something special, a real life partner."

He stared off in the distance as he began to get lost in his thoughts. The next thing he heard was the sound of Stewie clearing his throat to get his attention. Brian broke away from his trance, shook his head, and reached up to scratch behind his neck with an embarrassed grin on his face.

"Heh, sorry. I kind of lost myself there for a moment."

Stewie grinned back at him and slowly shook his head.

"It's alright, Brian. It's good to see you this happy, and I'm happy for you, Buddy. I hope this all works out for you, but and I'm not saying it won't, if this doesn't go the way you hope it does, just know, you'll always have me…whether you want me there or not."

The boy smirked at the dog, indicating he was toying with him. The dog chuckled.

"I don't know about that. You can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I guess, I can put up with it. I wouldn't want to hurt your feelings or anything."

This prompted Stewie to feign offense.

"You? Hurt my feelings? Don't flatter yourself, Dog. You really think I care about you that much?"

Brian sat up.

"I don't think. I know."

Stewie scoffed.

"Well…"

He laughed, unable to keep up his act.

"You always could read me like a book."

This time it was Brian's turn to smirk.

"Damn right I can."

They both shared a laugh before finishing up their ice cream and getting back into the car. Brian buckled Stewie in and turned the car on before pulling out of his parking space and driving off down the street.

* * *

For the next several hours, Brian and Stewie spent a good amount of time driving. Occasionally, one of them would see a location they wanted to stop at like the book store or The Drunken Clam, and when it got around noon, they stopped off at a local café for some lunch. When it got close to three, Brian decided they had time for one more location. Stewie suggested the park, and Brian agreed that spending some time there would be enjoyable. When they got there, Brian parked his car and unbuckled the kid. Stewie ran off to play in the sandbox, and Brian took a seat on the nearby bench. After about half an hour, as Brian was watching Stewie play, a woman took a seat next to him and began speaking to him.

"Hey."

Brian forced his attention away from Stewie and refocused it on the woman now sitting next to him. She was a nice looking woman, a little short but with an attractive figure and very pretty brown hair.

"Hello."

The woman extended her hand toward him.

"My name's Cindy."

Brian smiled at the woman and took her hand to shake it.

"Brian."

They finished their handshake and pulled away.

"So, Brian, what brings you to the park?"

The dog turned back toward Stewie and pointed at him.

"My little friend, Stewie, wanted to come and play. You see, I'm one of his primary caregivers, and me and him have been spending the day together."

Cindy turned to look at Stewie.

"Oh my goodness! He's adorable!"

Brian's paw went up to scratch behind his neck.

"Yeah, he's a pretty cute kid."

There was an awkward pause, well at least for Brian. This was usually the point where he would make a move, maybe try and get a phone number or something, but for some reason, that didn't seem right. He thought about his secret admirer and how they had said how much it hurt to see him with other people and realized he didn't want to hurt them.

_Come on, Brian. What's the big deal? It's not like you're actually dating this person. Hell, you don't even know who this person is. Why should it matter who you hit on?_

Really it shouldn't have mattered, but some reason, at that moment, it did. Brian couldn't believe it. He was actually feeling  _guilty_  about considering trying to get with Cindy. He knew he was starting to get attached to this mystery person, but this made him realize just how much that was the case, and it scared the shit out of him. How could he feel this way about someone when he didn't even know who they were!? He tried to say something to Cindy. He tried to make a move.

"Hey, Cindy…"

The woman turned back toward him.

"Yeah."

The dog went to ask for her number but the words got stuck in his throat. He couldn't say it. He struggled and struggled, but he couldn't bring himself to ask that single question he had asked a hundred women before. Cindy was now looking at him kind of funny.

"Are you ok, Brian?"

The canine cleared his throat and chuckled.

"What? Uh, yeah, of course. Listen, I just realized I need to get Stewie back home. Maybe, we'll run into each other again sometime."

With that, Brian practically jumped off of the bench and marched off toward Stewie, not even waiting for Cindy to say anything else. He grabbed the child's hand.

"Come on, Kid. Let's go."

The boy looked up at him confused.

"What? Why? We haven't even been here that long."

The dog sighed.

"I know. Just…I need to get out of here. Ok, Stewie?"

Seeing how serious Brian was being, the boy nodded his head, got up, and followed the dog back to the car. Brian quickly buckled Stewie in, hopped into the driver's seat, and pulled out onto the road. As they were driving off, the child tried to talk to the canine.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Brian just shook his head.

"Not right now, Stewie."

He placed a paw up to his forehead.

"Not right now."

* * *

Brian and Stewie didn't talk much more that day. In fact, Brian hardly talked at all for the remainder of the evening. When dinner rolled around, he hurriedly finished his meal and then told the others that he was going to bed early due to a headache. After dodging a couple of questions about whether or not he was alright, he exited the kitchen and proceeded up the stairs toward Peter and Lois's room. As he went to open the door, he heard the pitter-patter of feet coming up behind him.

"Brian?"

The dog turned and looked at the boy, who had a worried expression on his face.

"Brian, what's wrong?"

The canine gave a halfhearted smile.

"It's nothing, Kid. I just have some things to think about. I'll let you know when I'm ready to talk about it."

Stewie didn't look like he was satisfied, but he didn't say anything else, allowing Brian to enter the room and shut the door. The dog climbed up onto the bed and lay down in his regular spot. He was so confused right now. He knew those letters had meant a lot to him, but he couldn't believe that he could feel this strongly for this person so early on. Wasn't this the exact same type of situation that always ended badly for him, putting all his hopes on one person only to see those hopes crash and burn, and now he was feeling that way about a stranger!? Ok, maybe he did  _know_  them, but for right now, the identity of this secret admirer was a complete and total mystery to him, and yet, when he thought about all the things they'd written to him, he couldn't help but feel…weightless and like everything was going to work out for him in the end. He honestly couldn't remember a time he had  _ever_ felt like this for any of the people he had so called "been in love with" in the past. He didn't feel this way about either Lois or Jillian. He'd never felt this way about anyone…ever. He wanted this to work out more than he had ever wanted anything. He wanted to believe this was happening for a reason.

_What if it isn't though? What if this ends up being like all my previous relationships? Could I ever recover from that now that I've allowed myself to grow this close?_

The bottom line was he was scared. He was scared of how attached he was to this person already, and he was scared that he might be setting himself up for failure yet again. He closed his eyes. He needed sleep. At first it felt like, he was going to have similar troubles getting to sleep like he did the other night, but after several minutes that ended up not being the case. All of this thinking had exhausted him emotionally and physically, and soon, he was out for the night. Later on that night, while he was sleeping, a small smile formed across his face as he dreamt of meeting his secret admirer.


	3. Tuesday: Stewie Griffin, P.I.

"Brian, wake up."

The dog opened his eyes to see the blurry image of Stewie sitting on the bed facing him. He yawned and rubbed his eyes before sitting up and stretching, prompting another yawn.

"Hmmm? What is it, Stewie?"

The boy pointed toward the clock on the nightstand.

"It's a little after ten. Lois, tried to tell you that she was leaving and that she wanted you to watch me, but you were too sleepy to realize what she was saying when you responded. She's been gone for about an hour now, but I figured you wouldn't want to waste the entire morning sleeping. It took forever to wake you up. You were really out of it."

The dog shook his head in an attempt to fully wake himself up. Despite having slept longer than he should have, he still felt really tired.

"Is there coffee downstairs or something? I'm still pretty out of it, and a cup of coffee would really help."

The boy nodded.

"Yeah, I think so. Lois put some on a couple of hours ago, but there should still be some left. Come on."

He grabbed the dog's paw.

"I'll help you."

Brian allowed Stewie to lead him out of the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. He looked over at the coffee maker and saw a pitcher that was about a quarter full. He walked over and cut the machine on so that it would warm the already made coffee in the pitcher before taking a seat at the table. Stewie climbed up into his highchair so he could sit next to Brian. The dog yawned again.

"Damn it. Why am I so fucking tired this morning?"

He could feel his eyelids growing heavy again. He growled in frustration and looked over at Stewie.

"Do me a favor, Stewie, and slap me as hard as you can."

The child just stared at him.

"Uhhh, do you really think that's necessary, Brian. I mean, the coffee's going to be ready in just a second. Once you get some of that, I'm sure you'll be fine. You're just having a lousy morning, once you get some caffeine in your system, you'll feel a lot better."

As if to prove his point, just then, the smell of coffee began to fill the kitchen. Just the smell of it was enough to make Brian feel less tired than before. He got up and grabbed a mug before walking over to the machine, cutting it off, and pouring himself a cup of the liquid. He took a sip, and his sleepiness slowly began to fade away until, eventually, it was gone completely. He walked back over to the table and retook his seat beside Stewie. He took another sip.

"Ahhhh, that's much better."

Stewie rolled his eyes.

"And you actually wanted me to slap you? Who actually does that, Brian?"

The dog ignored the question and quickly finished his cup. He was wide awake now and ready for whatever the day had in store. He got up and put the mug in the sink and was about to head out of the kitchen until he heard Stewie calling out to him.

"Hey, Brian?"

The dog turned to look at the infant, who was in the process of climbing out of his highchair so he could follow after the canine.

"Yeah."

The boy walked up to him and stopped. It took the child a second to say something.

"Last night, you were acting really strange, and you wouldn't tell me what the problem was. I was just wondering, do you feel like talking about it now? Whatever it was, I could tell it was really bugging you, and I know how you get when you don't talk about these things. You know you can tell me anything, Brian. Right?"

It took the dog a minute to remember what Stewie was talking about, and then, it dawned on him what had been bugging him the previous night. Now that he thought about it, he realized it was still kind of bugging him. He knelt down to explain.

"I was just thinking about my secret admirer and how attached I've already gotten to her. I'm worried that I might have allowed myself to get my hopes up because of those letters, and I'm not sure what I'll do if all this ends up being for nothing. I do this type of thing all the time, Stewie. The only difference this time is that I'm obsessing over someone, and I don't even know who they are, which, in a way, is kind of worse, don't you think?"

The child turned his gaze away from the dog for a second to contemplate what he'd just been told. After several seconds he looked back at the canine, smiling.

"I don't think you should worry yourself with those thoughts, Brian. You should try and be optimistic about this. Don't let your past experiences ruin this for you. If this person makes you happy…just let yourself be happy for crying out loud."

He laughed.

"If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be, but why worry about that when you don't even know this person's name yet. Just enjoy this for what it is, and if a time comes when you need to consider these things, think about them then."

The dog listened intently to the infant's words and nodded his head when the boy was finished.

"You're right, Stewie. There's no sense in worrying about that now."

He stood up.

"I guess I should go see if there's another letter waiting for me."

Stewie shuffled his feet for a moment before responding.

"I think that's a good idea. If you need me I'll be upstairs. Ok?"

With that, the boy began walking toward the stairs. Once he was gone, Brian made his way outside to check the mailbox. Unsurprisingly, there was another letter inside. He grabbed the letter and walked back inside before taking a seat on the couch. He opened the envelope, pulled the letter out, and began reading it.

**Dearest Brian,**

**I had a dream about you last night. It was the type of dream I've had many times before. In it, you and I were together and happy in a way neither of us has ever been. It started out with us just talking, and then, things…escalated. I'm sure I don't need to tell you what I mean by that. If that freaks you out, I'm sorry, but it should go without saying that, since I feel the way I do about you, I'd also want to** _**be** _ **with you. I fantasize about you all the time, Brian, but I won't go into detail about all of these fantasies. Let's just say they cover a wide variety of topics and are, at times, very creative. I'm getting hot just thinking about them. I hadn't planned on writing to you about my burning sexual desires for you until later on as I thought this might be a little too soon to bring something like that up, but damn it, that dream is stuck in my head right now, and I need to get this out of my system! It's all I think about sometimes: you and me cuddling together and talking about how much we mean to each other. One of us will initiate the first kiss, usually it's me. Then, we'll start making out. Our breathing gets husky. We gaze into each other's eyes, acknowledging our desires for each other. I smile stupidly as you lay me down on the bed and slowly remove my clothing. We kiss some more, and before long, you're inside me, thrusting, and it's…magic.**

**That's the tame version at least. It's a little over-romanticized, but what can I say, I'm somewhat of a hopeless romantic at times. I've never actually had sex, though. I mean, I've done sexual things with guys before, but I've never gone** _**that** _ **far. I want my true first time to be with you. You may think that's silly, saving yourself for one person in particular, but I don't know, I can't imagine actually giving myself to anyone but you, Brian. I want you to be my one and only. Like I said, I'm a hopeless romantic at times, but that's how I honestly feel. My love for you is just that strong. Before I fell in love with you, I would have never thought that I could feel this strongly about anyone, but you changed me, Brian. I am who I am today because of you, and whether or not I changed for the better, I will always owe that change to you.**

**It took a lot for me to actually type all that out, Brian. I can't believe that I'm actually going to finally tell you about this. I'm literally blushing from head to toe right now, debating about whether or not I should erase everything I've written so far and begin typing a new letter, so I'm going to go ahead and end this letter here and print it out before I change my mind. Have a wonderful day, My Love.**

**Love,**

**Your Secret Admirer**

Brian gulped. His eyes went back up and scanned the section of the letter where it had described one his secret admirer's fantasies, and he could feel the blood flowing down to his nether regions as he looked over it again. He read it again and again, and eventually, it was just too much. He hopped off of the couch and ran down to the basement where he could take care of his growing problem in peace. A little over half an hour later, he emerged from the basement, satisfied but at the same time extremely embarrassed at himself for getting so worked up over something like that.

 _Did that_ really _just happen?_

He shook his head. That settled it. He had to know who this person was. Stewie may have thought that he should not worry about it, but after what had just happened, it was clear that his emotions were getting out of hand. He'd just masturbated over a letter written to him from a mystery person. That was pretty much the line, if there was one to begin with. He put the letter away and walked upstairs and knocked on the door to Stewie's room. Almost instantly, the door opened.

"What's up. B-ry?"

Brian looked at him seriously.

"I need your help."

He pushed his way into the room and shut the door behind him before turning back to address Stewie.

"You're a smart kid, and I know I probably shouldn't be trying to pry, seeing how this person has gone to great lengths to make contact while keeping their identity a secret, but I can't take it anymore. I need to know who my secret admirer is, and I figure, if there's anyone who can track her down, it would be you."

Stewie tilted his head.

"You're asking me to figure out who your secret admirer is?"

Brian nodded fervently.

"That's exactly what I'm asking."

The boy's face went blank. He looked down and rubbed his chin for a moment before looking back up with a smirk on his face.

"Wait right there."

He turned and walked over to his closet to retrieve something. Brian craned his neck to try and see what Stewie was doing, but the boy's figure was blocking the view of whatever he was up to. After awhile the dog gave up, but soon after that, the boy returned sporting a well-fitting, brown trench coat.

Brian's eyebrows rose.

"Why are you wearing that?"

Stewie batted his hand at the question.

"Come now, Brian. You asked me to help you figure out who your secret admirer is, and that's what I'm going to do. That doesn't mean I can't have a little fun with the task, though. I've always wanted to role play as a private investigator. This is my chance! I could be a modern day Dick Tracy, you know, minus the tacky yellow getup."

Brian rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose while shaking his head, showing how absurd he thought this was.

"Whatever you say, Stewie."

After taking a moment to process Stewie's sudden urge to play detective, Brian looked back at the boy.

"So, where do we start first?"

The child appeared to think about it for a moment before answering.

"I suppose I could start by looking over your newest letter, that is, if you got one today."

The dog's eyes got wide, and he could feel himself beginning to blush.

"Well…"

He chuckled.

"I did get another letter today, but I'd prefer it if I could keep this one to myself. It's a little more…personal than the others."

He really hoped that Stewie got what he was trying to say without him having to spell it out for the boy. He felt comfortable discussing a wide variety of subjects with Stewie, but sex was not one of them. Unfortunately, it appeared that his attempt at being subtle had only served to confuse the infant.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that, Brian. If you want me to help, you can't hide anything from me. I need as much information as I can get. Those letters could contain clues pertaining to the identity of your secret admirer. It would really help if you let me see the latest letter, and you should probably go and get the other two, also, so I can analyze them all together."

Brian understood what Stewie was saying. Giving him all the letters made sense in theory, but…

 _I_ really _don't want him to read that last letter. At the same time, though, I want to do everything I can to figure out who this person is._

He was conflicted, but eventually, his desires to find out who his secret admirer was won out over his unease about Stewie reading a letter that basically described him plowing someone. It's not like it was a particularly graphic description, anyway, and Stewie had shown many times that he was well informed when it came to sexual matters. The chances were the kid had read, and most likely seen, far worse than what was in that letter. He was still uneasy with the fact that it was about him, but in the end, he decided that discovering his secret admirer's identity was worth a little embarrassment.

"Alright, fine."

He sighed in defeat.

"I'll get all the letters for you."

He turned to leave the room but stopped and turned back to say one more thing before he left. His expression got serious as he pointed a finger at the boy.

"But I better not hear one quip from you about the new one. Got it?"

The child nodded his head.

"Yes, yes, Brian. I  _get_ it. I understand whatever's in that letter deals with a touchy subject. You'll hear no jokes from me, promise."

Satisfied that Stewie was telling him the truth, Brian turned back to exit the room and retrieve the letters. Once he had them, he rushed back to Stewie's room and shut the door. He handed the letters to Stewie.

"Here they are."

The boy took them, walked over to his table, and laid them out, side by side, before taking a seat. Brian stayed where he was, standing by the door. The child motioned for him to come over.

"Come have a seat, Brian. There's no reason for you to just stand there."

The dog slowly walked over to the table and sat down in the seat opposite the infant, who was currently reading over all three of the letters carefully. There was silence for a long while. Brian kept shifting in his seat, uncomfortable and anxious, just waiting for Stewie to make a comment about the part describing the fantasy, but that never happened. After several minutes, the boy finally looked up from the letters, folded his hands together, and spoke.

"Well, that didn't help much."

Brian's eyes got wide.

"What do you mean 'that didn't help much'?"

The boy just shrugged.

"I mean exactly what I said. There's nothing in these letters that can help me determine who your secret admirer is."

Brian was speechless, mouth wide open. The child laughed and sat back.

"There's nothing that can help  _me_ find out who it is, but maybe, there's something in here that can help  _you_. These letters weren't meant for me after all."

The dog looked at him confused.

"Then why the hell didn't you tell me that in the first place!?"

The boy shook his head.

"Because I didn't  _know_ that I wouldn't be able to find anything without your insight. Now, that I know that, though, we can begin to go over these letters together. First things first, though, do you have any theories as to who it  _could_ be."

The dog sat forward and folded his arms on the table. He looked up at the ceiling as he thought about Stewie's question. He began thinking out loud.

"Let's see. It's someone I already know, but that doesn't really narrow it down much because I know, or at least have known, a bunch of women. They said they fell in love with me awhile ago, so it's not a new acquaintance, which again doesn't really help that much. They also mentioned the time Meg kidnapped me and tried to…"

He grimaced at the memory, and a shudder went down his spine. He shook it away.

"…have her way with me, but there's no telling who all has access to that information. Peter was there after all, and I have no doubt he'd tell that story to anyone and not let me know about it. They also know about the hate between me and Quagmire, but again, there's no way to tell who all knows about that. They know  _a lot_ about me, and if what they said about not being some kind of stalker was true, then it would have to be someone I'm really close to, but I can't think of anyone like that. Maybe, they said that because they actually _do_ stalk me, but I'm hoping that's not the case because then this whole situation goes from nice to just plain creepy."

He sighed.

"I have no fucking clue who it could be, Stewie. That's why I came to you. I mean, you're a genius after all. I thought you would be able to figure this out for me."

The boy tilted his head.

"Brian, yes, I'm incredibly intelligent, but I'm not fucking psychic. I can only work with information that's readily available, and the information I've gathered from these letters isn't all that helpful. I mean, I couldn't even tell you if they're a male or female."

The dog laughed at this.

"I'm pretty sure it's a female, Stewie."

The boy let out a small, mirthless chuckle.

"Heh, right. Of course it is."

He cleared his throat.

"I was just making a point."

The dog sat back again.

"So, you're telling me that there's absolutely nothing you can do to help me figure out who wrote these letters."

The child shook his head.

"I didn't say that. I said there was nothing  _written_ here that could help me. There's still something else we can do."

The dog tilted his head, intrigued.

"Oh really? Like what?"

The infant grabbed one of the letters and walked over to a blank space on his wall. Brian watched as a keypad emerged from the wall. Stewie pressed a couple of buttons, and a few seconds later, some sort of machine came out of the wall. Brian walked over to join Stewie, trying not to stare in awe.

"What is that?"

The boy motioned, showily, toward the machine.

"This, my dear Brian, is an all-purpose scanner. You see…"

He held up the letter he had grabbed.

"I simply insert an object into this machine, and it will scan for whatever I tell it to. I'm going to scan this letter for fingerprints and DNA."

The dog nodded his head at the explanation. It seemed simple enough. He watched Stewie insert the paper into the machine and walk over to a keyboard with a monitor suspended above it. The boy typed something out on the keyboard, and instantly, the all-purpose scanner came to life, lights flashing with a bunch of electronic sounds emanating from it. The child was watching the screen intently. Brian took a look at the screen, but whatever was being displayed at the moment was just gibberish to him, so he looked away and settled on just standing beside Stewie as he waited to hear about the results of the scanning process. After several minutes, the machine seemed to power down. He looked over at Stewie to see the boy's eyes grow wide.

"What? Th-this is impossible!"

That didn't sound good. The dog tapped the boy's shoulder to pull his attention away from the screen.

"What's wrong?"

The child turned to him with a look of apparent shock on his face.

"The machine is saying that the only fingerprints on the paper are from either you or me. It's saying the same thing about the DNA scan, but that doesn't make any sense. According to the machine, the only people who have had any contact with that letter are you and me."

Brian didn't understand this.

"So, what, my secret admirer made sure to not leave any trace of who they are on the letter? Did they actually expect me to do something like this? That's crazy!"

The boy nodded his head.

"I know. It's so  _weird_."

His voice trailed off. It looked like he was thinking. After several seconds, he spoke up again.

"Maybe something is wrong with that letter. Go and grab the other letters so I can try scanning them, too. Brian did as he was told. Once he had handed Stewie the other two letters, he took a seat on the floor, preferring not to have to stand again during the scanning process. The boy scanned another letter and waited for the results. When the scan was done, the results came back the same as before. The child's jaw dropped. He shook his head to regain his composure and inserted the last letter. After going through the finale scan, the results didn't change. Stewie threw his hands in the air.

"I'm stumped, Brian. It would appear that your secret admirer has beaten me."

The dog shot up.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean she beat you?"

The boy retrieved the letters and handed them back to the dog.

"I mean, there is absolutely no way to trace this person with these letters. I've done everything I can."

Brian just couldn't believe this. Surely, Stewie, a fucking super genius, couldn't have been stumped by these, seemingly, simple love letters. There had to be something else they could try.

"Come on, Stewie. I  _need_ to know who this person is. There has to be something else you can do. You honestly can't think of anything else?"

The child placed his chin in his palm.

"Weeeeell, there is one other thing we could try, but I'm not sure it will help that much."

The dog waited for Stewie to explain. When the child said nothing, he motioned for him to continue.

"Yeah. And?"

The boy looked up at him and stared blankly.

"The mailbox."

The dog tilted his head, confused.

"The mailbox?"

Stewie nodded his head.

"That's the last place, that we know of, where your secret admirer could have left some sort of evidence regarding their identity. The only problem is there's bound to be genetic material from all sorts of people, so sorting through that data could take awhile, and even then, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to decide which person is your secret admirer. Like I said, I can do it, but I'm not sure what good it will do."

Brian didn't care about the odds. If there was even a slight chance that doing what Stewie was suggesting could help them figure out who this person was, then he wanted it done.

"Do it, Stewie."

The boy sighed, apparently annoyed but acquiesced, walking over to a button on his machine. He pressed the button and a compartment opened up, revealing a pair of, what looked like, ordinary goggles. Stewie grabbed the goggles and turned to walk out of the room. Brian followed after him. They made their way down the stairs and out the front door. Once they arrived at the mailbox, Stewie put on the goggles. Tired of waiting for an explanation, Brian cleared his throat.

"Sooooo, what exactly are you doing."

The boy looked the mailbox up and down before answering.

"I'm scanning the premises. These goggles will register any genetic material in the area. That data will then be transmitted to the machine. I'll have to go back and sort through it all manually to figure out who all the individual pieces of DNA actually belong to, a process that could take quite a while."

Stewie continued to look at the mailbox as he began walking around it. Once he had made it all the way around, he lowered his head to look at the ground. After looking over the ground around the mailbox thoroughly, he removed the goggles.

"There. I've scanned the area. Now, I'll go back up to my room to begin the sorting process. You're welcome to join me, but I can't guarantee it will be all that exciting, and I might not even get finished today. I hope you know just how much effort I'm putting into helping you, Brian."

The dog smiled at him.

"Thank you, Stewie. I really appreciate this. I promise, I'll make it up to you somehow."

The boy smiled back, and motioned for the dog to follow him back inside. Before they had made it halfway across the living room. The dog heard a low growling sound coming from the child in front of him. Stewie chuckled, embarrassed.

"Well, maybe we should eat first. It's been past lunchtime, and I don't know about you, but this detective could use a lunch break."

Brian hadn't really thought about missing lunch, but now that Stewie had brought it up, he could feel his hunger making itself known.

"Yeah, you're right. We should get something to eat. Come on. I'll get us something from the kitchen."

With that, the two of them redirected their path towards the kitchen.

* * *

When they had finished their lunch, the two of them walked back up to Stewie's room. For the remainder of the afternoon, Brian sat in Stewie's room and watched as the boy sorted through the data he had gathered. It did indeed end up being a long process. The dog ended up almost dozing off on one occasion but quickly slapped himself to wake himself up, prompting an eye roll from Stewie. Every once in a while, the dog would look at the screen. He never knew what to make of it. At one point it looked like Stewie was playing a game, but he didn't question it. When dinner rolled around, they went downstairs and quickly ate before heading back upstairs to continue sorting through the data, opting not to join the family in the living room. Brian made sure to tell Lois that he would make sure to put Stewie to bed, so she wouldn't bother walking in on them. Even as the other members of the family came upstairs to go to bed, Stewie continued working. Around ten, he finally broke his gaze away from the screen and yawned.

"There. Done."

Upon hearing this, Brian shot up off the floor.

"Well? What did you find?"

The child stretched and yawned again.

"All the DNA samples came from a total of 62 people. 36 of them are female."

He pressed a button and brought up the list of females. Brian gave it a quick look, but he didn't recognize any of the women besides Meg and Lois.

He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Stewie. Thanks for trying, though."

There was no response. Brian looked at the boy and found that he had passed out on the floor. The sight made Brian feel guilty, but as he continued to watch the boy sleep, a smile began to creep across his face.

_He really is a cute kid._

Brian walked over to the dresser and retrieved the child's pajamas. He then walked back over to where Stewie was sleeping and knelt down to undress the child. He carefully removed the trench coat and set it to the side. It didn't take him long to remove the rest of the clothing, and getting the pajamas on him was a simple task since the dog had done this many times before. Once the baby was dressed for bed, Brian picked him up and carried him over to his crib. He slowly lowered the boy down onto the mattresses and pulled the blanket up to cover him.

"Goodnight, Stewie."

He brushed a finger along the boy's cheek, earning a small grin. He chuckled at this, and then lay down beside the crib. He yawned, shut his eyes, and quickly fell asleep, no longer that concerned with trying to figure out the identity of his secret admirer.


	4. Wednesday: A Little Chat

Brian slowly opened his eyes and took a look at his surroundings. Once he realized that he was in Stewie's room, he began to remember what had happened yesterday. He sat up, stretched, and turned to look inside the crib to see if Stewie was still there. He wasn't. That must have meant that the kid was already downstairs. He got up, walked out of the room, and proceeded down the stairs. Once downstairs, he called out to Stewie.

"Stewie?"

There was no answer. He called again.

"Stewie? Are you down here?"

Once again, there was no answer. He scratched behind his neck and called a different name.

"Lois?"

No one was answering him. He walked into the kitchen, and wasn't surprised to find it empty. He looked at the fridge and found a note left for him by Lois. He grabbed it and began reading.

**Brian, I've gone to take care of some things. I went ahead and took Stewie with me. I figured you could use a break. I'll be back around three. There's some breakfast left over from this morning if you want some. When you get done, go ahead and put everything away for me. Thank you.**

Brian took the note and threw it into the trash. He looked over at the leftover breakfast, and decided he was hungry enough to fix himself some of it to eat. He retrieved a plate and fixed himself a quick meal. As he was eating, he looked over at Stewie's highchair. It felt lonely without the child at the table to keep him company. He could already tell this was going to be a boring day. It didn't take him long to finish his breakfast, and once he was done, he set to work, putting all of the food away, a chore that took a little over ten minutes to complete. With his task done, he walked into the living room and proceeded out the front door. He walked to the mailbox and opened the door to check inside. He reached in and pulled out his letter for the day. He closed the mailbox door and walked back inside to take a seat on the couch. He looked at the letter seriously, and thought about the events of yesterday. He had decided to stop trying to figure out his secret admirer's identity. When they were ready to reveal themselves they would. For now, he just needed to enjoy receiving these letters and not worry about the details, even if he was getting scarily attached to them. He opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and began reading.

**Dearest Brian,**

**I think it's time that we took a step forward with our relationship. I know I haven't been sending these letters for too long now, but there's only so much I can say this way, and I'm dying to have an actual conversation with you. If you're interested, I've thought of a way for us to talk to each other while still keeping my identity a secret. Tonight, at around nine, you'll receive an email from me. It won't be from my actual email address, though, as I'll be using a dummy account. In this email, there will be a link to a private chat room I've set up for the two of us to use. I'll be in that chat room until about half past nine. If you don't show up by then, I'll take that to mean that you're not yet ready to take things that far. I really hope you decide to join me, though. There's so much I want to talk with you about.**

**That's really all I have to say right now. I realize that this letter is incredibly short, but hopefully, if you decide to chat with me, I'll be able to say a lot more tonight. Until then, have a nice day, Bry.**

**Love,**

**Your Secret Admirer**

Brian couldn't believe this. He had just decided that he was satisfied with just getting letters from this person, and now they were setting up a way for him to communicate with them!? It was little frustrating, but really, he just felt really excited at hearing this news. Of course he was going to take part in this little chat. He was dying to have an actual conversation with this mystery person, also, and he couldn't wait to get that email. A huge grin spread across his face. He put the letter away, hopped off of the couch, and placed it with the others. With the letter put away, he began to realize that he had no idea what time it actually was at the moment. He walked into the kitchen and looked at his phone. The clock read  **9:30**.

_Damn. I've got over five hours I need to kill before Stewie and Lois get home._

There was really nothing he needed to do at the moment, so he figured he'd take the opportunity to lounge around on the couch a little before they got back. He walked back into the living room, grabbed the remote, and climbed up on the couch. He cut the TV on and began channel surfing. He quickly realized there was nothing good on. He sighed.

_Of course there's nothing to watch when I have the house to myself._

He eventually settled on a cooking show that looked at least semi-interesting, before laying back and getting lost in the program.

* * *

Several boring hours past by before Stewie and Lois finally got home. Brian was currently laying on the couch with the TV off as he had given up on finding anything decent to watch about four hours ago. Instead, he had decided on taking a quick nap, which had ended about ten minutes ago. His tail began to wag at the sight of Stewie and Lois. He was so happy that he wasn't alone anymore since he honestly thought that he was really close to dying of boredom.

"Hey, you guys!"

Lois didn't appear to notice the dog's excitement at seeing them. The woman had a look on her face that said she was exhausted. Without a word, she put Stewie down, and the boy walked over to take a seat beside Brian as his mother began heading upstairs. The child turned his head to face, Brian.

"Awww, did you miss me, Brian?"

The boy was practically cooing at him, obviously trying to get under his skin. Brian let it slide, though, since he actually had missed the boy quite a bit. He would never actually admit it, though. He rolled his eyes at the infant.

"You wish."

The child could obviously tell he wasn't being serious, and he smiled at him.

"Whatever you say, Bry. You can lie all you want, but I know you're crazy about me."

The dog smiled back but didn't respond, mainly because he wasn't too sure what his response should be to something like that, so he just decided to change the subject to the letter he had received that day, seeing how he had yet to have his daily talk with Stewie about his secret admirer.

"Wait right there."

Brian jumped off of the couch and left to retrieve the newest letter. When he returned, he sat back down by Stewie and handed the boy the letter. As the child was reading it, Brian felt like he should probably say something about all the trouble he had made Stewie go through yesterday. He had tried to last night, but the boy had already passed out before he could say anything.

"Listen, Stewie, about yesterday, I'm sorry I pushed you so hard to find out who's been sending these letters. It wasn't right, and I've decided that I'm ok not knowing who this person is until they're ready to tell me, which, if that letter right there is any indication, could actually happen pretty soon anyway."

The infant didn't say anything until he was finished reading. When he finally looked up from the letter he just shrugged.

"You have nothing to feel sorry about, Brian. I wanted to help. You didn't make me do anything. I could have said no at anytime, but I didn't because you're my friend, and I see how much this all means to you. I would have done a whole lot more if I could."

He looked down with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Honestly, I'd do anything for you, Brian. Surely, I've done more than enough to prove that."

He suddenly looked back up and chuckled, nervously.

"That is, I'd do anything for you within reason. If it's to honestly help you out, no problem. You can count on me, but I'm not going to, like, go and jump off a bridge or anything just because you tell me to."

The dog wasn't sure what had prompted the child to say such a thing. He tilted his head, baffled.

"What? Why would you…? Where did that come from?"

The child just batted his hand at him and ignored the dog's questions.

"It was nothing. Anyway, about this latest letter, are you going to actually talk to this person tonight?"

The dog nodded his head in the affirmative.

"There's no way I would let an opportunity like this pass me by. I have so many questions to ask this person, and I'm really just extremely excited see how this conversation will go. Tonight could change everything."

Stewie nodded his head in understanding.

"Well, I hope everything goes well for you."

The child grabbed the remote.

"So, is there anything on?"

The dog practically facepalmed at the question.

* * *

Later on that night, after dinner was over and everybody else was in the living room, except for Stewie who was upstairs in his room probably playing with Rupert, Brian went upstairs to retrieve his laptop. It was about half an hour until nine, but he figured he should go ahead and get set up in a nice private location. He didn't know how long he would be talking to this person or what they would even end up talking about, but just in case the conversation turned toward more…intimate subject matters, he wanted to be sure that he was somewhere where no one would bug him. The best place he could think of was the basement, but he wasn't sure if his laptop would be able to connect to the internet from down there. It wouldn't hurt to see if it could, though, so he grabbed the laptop, walked downstairs, and made his way down to the basement. He opened the laptop up, pressed the power button, and waited for it to boot up. After about a minute, it finished starting, and then, he clicked on the icon to open up his internet browser. It took a little while, but the browser eventually opened up to his homepage.

_Alright, so I do have a connection down here. It's just a little slower than usual. I guess that's fine._

Satisfied, he took a seat on one of the boxes, and opened up his email. There was nothing there yet, which wasn't surprising since it was still about a quarter until nine. He opened up a game of solitaire to pass the time. After failing at six games, he checked the time again. It was only a couple more minutes until nine, so he checked his email again. There was a new message with no subject from an address he didn't recognize. He opened it to discover that it was the email he had been waiting for. It contained nothing but a single link. He clicked on it and was brought to a screen that asked him to type in a screen name. He settled on just using his real name, Brian, since this person already knew who he was anyway. After selecting his username, he gained access to the chat room. He wasn't exactly familiar with this sort of thing, but it seemed simple enough. There was a box for him to type in, and above that, there was another screen that he assumed was used to display the conversation. To the left of the screen was a box that showed the current number of people using the chat room and their screen names. It only had two people listed, him and someone going by the name of SA.

_SA. Well, that obviously stands for Secret Admirer. Simple enough._

He looked down at the keyboard.

_Ok. Let's try this out._

He typed something out on the keyboard and pressed enter.

**Brian: I'm here.**

Almost immediately, he received a response.

**SA: One second, Bry. I'll be back shortly.**

Brian shifted himself to get more comfortable. As he was waiting, he could hear the others making their way up the stairs to go to bed, leaving him completely alone for the rest of the night. After awhile, he got another message from his secret admirer.

**SA: Ok, I'm back. Sorry about that. I was getting settled in for the night. Anyway, I'm glad you decided to talk with me, Brian. :)**

The dog smiled and typed a reply.

**Brian: I wasn't going to miss this opportunity for anything. You have no idea how much your letters mean to me.**

His heart began to beat faster as the reality of what was going on finally hit him.

_I'm actually having a real conversation with my secret admirer!_

Their reply popped up on the screen.

**SA: Oh, I might have an idea. :P**

The dog tilted his head, curious.

**Brian: Oh, really?**

**SA: Of course, I mean, you're here aren't you. I'd have to figure that you wouldn't have bothered if my letters hadn't of had some sort of tremendous positive effect. At least now I know you're interested. ;)**

The dog reached a paw up to rub the back of his neck. He was actually feeling a little nervous right now.

_Come on, Brian. There's nothing to be nervous about. You're just having a nice private chat online with someone who's crazy about you. How could this go wrong?_

He shook away his worry and typed some more.

**Brian: Well, how could I not be after you wrote all that stuff about fantasizing about me and all? After I read that, I assure you, I became very interested.**

**SA: lol Good to know. I'll be sure to remember that when I'm thinking about you tonight.**

**Brian: I would probably think about you, too, but I don't even know who you are. I'm curious, why are you doing this? What makes you think I'll reject you? Honestly, I'm already starting to fall for you just from the way you write those letters and the way you just get me. I can't remember a time when I was as happy as when I read your first letter, and I get that feeling every time I read a new one. I have no clue who you are, but you've still gotten under my skin. That must mean something.**

After several minutes, he finally got a response.

**SA: It's complicated, Brian. Believe me, I want to reveal myself to you, but I'm just not your usual type. What you said was incredibly sweet, and I was incredibly happy while reading it, but if you actually knew who you were talking to right now, you'd probably freak out and take it all back.**

After reading that, the dog felt a surge of passion. His fingers flew across the keyboard.

**Brian: No. I wouldn't do that. If you're anything like what your letters make you seem then I couldn't imagine actually rejecting you. I don't know what you mean by you not being my usual type, but you've made me happier than everyone I've ever dated combined. I've never felt this way about anyone, and I don't care who you are, I owe it you to at least give you a chance. You've more than earned that, and no matter what, I'll never take these words back. I mean them with every fiber of my being.**

Once again, there was a long pause before he got a response.

**SA: Oh, wow, I had no idea that you would end up feeling this strongly. I want to believe you, Brian, I really do, but I'm scared. I didn't know things were going to end up moving this quickly, and to see you say things like that makes me want to tell you who I am right here, but…I just can't. :(**

**Brian: You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with. Just know, that when you're ready, I'll accept you no matter who you are. I can tell that you and I already have something really special here. You don't have to be afraid.**

Brian's heart was beginning to swell. This was so surreal.

**SA: Thank you, Brian. That means a lot. :) I'll think about what you said. Maybe, you're right. Maybe, I don't have to be afraid. Maybe, this was meant to be, and I'm worrying myself over nothing.**

The dog smiled. They were actually making progress.

**Brian: Maybe.**

**SA: You know what? I was actually a little worried about how this chat would go, but this is actually really nice being able to talk freely with you like this without having to worry about coming out about my feelings. The only downside of it is that talking with you like this is making me wish even more that you were here with me right now. I'm always so lonely when you're not around.**

Brian smirked at this.

**Brian: Well, just tell me where to go, and I'll rush over there so you won't be so lonely anymore.**

**SA: Tempting, but no. lol Nice try, though, I was actually about to consider it. :P**

**Brian: You're not the only one who's lonely, you know.**

**SA: Awwww, I'm sorry, Brian, but with the way things are going, maybe we'll actually be together soon, and when we finally are, I'll be sure to make it worth the wait. ;)**

The dog could feel himself beginning to blush. He knew where this was going.

**Brian: And how exactly will you do that?**

**SA: Don't even get me started on all the things I would do to you, Brian. I might scare you away. lol**

**Brian: Try me.**

**SA: Damn it, Brian! You're making me blush! lol**

**Brian: Come on. Just because we're not together right now doesn't mean we can't have a little fun together.**

Brian was getting bolder. He couldn't believe how badly he wanted this to happen.

**SA: Are you suggesting what I think you are?**

**Brian: Yes I am. I've never done anything like this before, but I'm damn ready to give it a shot if you are.**

**SA: Well, alright, but only because you were so persistent. Should I start?**

**Brian: Please do.**

The dog set the laptop down on one of the nearby boxes where he could still use it and then reclined back to get more comfortable. After a while, his secret admirer started their little game.

**SA: I take your hand and lead you into the bedroom.**

* * *

For the next hour or so, Brian and his secret admirer enacted a sexual encounter through their messages in the chat room. Things started off simply with his secret admirer leading him to their bed. They laid down and snuggled against each other, whispering how much they loved each other. He initiated the first kiss. From there, they exchanged several more kisses before things started to escalate into an intense make out session. At that point, Brian began to feel himself getting hard, and he began to stroke himself, making sure to match his actions with what his secret admirer was describing to him through their messages. As things continued to heat up, he began to stroke himself faster, moaning lowly, trying not to be too loud. His secret admirer described all kinds of dirty things to him, and it drove him wild. It's like they knew all the right buttons to push to get him going. The foreplay ended up being rather intense, considering that there was actually no one right there with him, but everything was being described so vividly that he had no problem imagining it. The only detail missing was what the person he was doing this with looked like, but that never hindered his enjoyment. Finally, the time came to take the final step. Apparently his secret admirer preferred anal sex, something else he had never done but was in no way opposed to trying. At this point, the dog was completely into what they were doing and took the lead, writing about fucking his secret admirer hard in many different positions while kissing them passionately and whispering dirty things in their ear. It didn't take long for him to finish.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

His orgasm was powerful and satisfying, and it left him completely exhausted. It took him several minutes to recover and catch his breath. While he was doing that, his secret admirer was coming down from their own orgasm according to the last message. After a while, he got another message describing his secret admirer snuggling against him and falling asleep. He sat up and typed something similar, bringing their session to an end.

**SA: That was amazing, Brian.**

The dog smiled, proud of himself.

**Brian: You weren't so bad yourself.**

**SA: lol Why, thank you. I do try. :P It might have been good, but I can assure you the real thing will be much better. ;)**

Brian liked the sound of that.

**Brian: Will be, huh?**

**SA: That's what I said, isn't it?**

**Brian: So, you're actually going to let me meet you?**

**SA: I'm thinking about it, but after that, I think it's safe to say that the odds are pretty high. I pretty much have to come out to you now, right?**

**Brian: Only if that's what you really want.**

**SA: It is…more than anything.**

The dog had to think a minute to figure out how he wanted to respond to that. He finally decided on something simple to express his feelings.

**Brian: :)**

**SA: Well, look at you using smilies! It only took you almost all night! lol :P**

**Brian: Yeah, I don't really do that kind of thing, but I made an exception in your case.**

**SA: Awwww, I'm touched, Brian, really, I am. It's a shame that I have to end our little chat here. I'm still really tired from our "activity", and it's getting really late, about half an hour until midnight I believe, but I'll be sure to have you another letter in the mailbox by tomorrow morning. Ok?**

**Brian: You're leaving me? :(**

**SA: lol Yeah. I'm sorry, My Love, but like I said, you'll be hearing from me again real soon.**   **It was a pleasure chatting with you, Brian. Goodnight.**

**Brian: Goodnight.**

With that, his secret admirer left the chat room. Brian exited out of his web browser and shut down his laptop before walking upstairs and setting it on the table in the kitchen. He then made his way upstairs and into the bathroom where he got to work cleaning up what little mess he had gotten on himself. Once that was done, he walked back into the hallway and up to the door to Peter and Lois's room. He went to open it but soon discovered it was locked.

_It seems I wasn't the only one who had a little fun tonight._

He sighed. He didn't want to wake them up by knocking on the door, so his only other option was Stewie's room if he didn't want to sleep on the couch. After what just happened, the idea of sleeping in Stewie's room made him feel awkward, but he greatly preferred that over the couch. He shook that uncomfortable feeling away and made his way into the child's room. Unsurprisingly, the boy was already sound asleep in his crib. Brian shut the door carefully and tiptoed over to his usual spot. He was about to lay down, but something caught his eye. It was the light on Stewie's laptop indicating that the power was on. The dog shook his head.

_I better go turn it off. There's no sense in wasting that much power._

He tiptoed over to the laptop opened it up and powered it down before closing it again. Satisfied, he walked back over to his spot and lay down to go to sleep.


	5. Thursday: A Good Day

"Wakey, wakey, Brian."

The dog's eyes shot open as he heard those words come from that voice. He looked up and sure enough it had been Stewie who'd said them.

_What the hell?_

Stewie was staring down at him with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Well, you're in a good mood this morning."

The child chuckled.

"You have no idea, Brian. I just feel so…great today."

The dog sat up and stretched.

"So, what's got you feeling so 'great'?"

The child looked down and shuffled his feet.

"I…I don't know. Today just feels like it's going to be a good day. I can't really explain it. What's it matter? Would you prefer it if I was in a bad mood?"

The dog thought about all the times he had seen Stewie in a bad mood. Despite it being a little weird, he had to say, he much preferred this version of Stewie.

"No, not really. It's great that you're so happy this morning, Stewie, but maybe you could tone it down a little. I'm not going to lie. You're kind of freaking me out."

The infant shook his head at this.

"Come now, Brian. Don't be like that. Come on. Let's go downstairs and get some breakfast. Everyone else is already down there."

Brian stood up and followed Stewie downstairs and into the kitchen where all the other Griffins were currently sitting down for breakfast. He put Stewie in his highchair and took the seat next to it. Before long, Lois set a plate in front of him.

"Good morning, Brian. Did you sleep well?"

The dog nodded his head before digging into his food. Everybody else had mostly finished, so they were all engaging in conversation. Brian didn't really pay them any mind, though, since they weren't exactly talking about anything he found all that interesting. He turned to look at Stewie who was currently in the middle of his own meal. The child must have felt the dog's eyes on him because, almost immediately, he turned to match Brian's gaze. Their eyes met, and Brian couldn't help but notice an uncanny shine in the boy's pupils. He froze. They stayed like that for several seconds, just staring at each other, neither of them saying a word. Brian wasn't sure what he was doing. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to look away. Something about that gaze was just so…hypnotic. Stewie ended up being the first one to break the eye contact, chucking shyly.

"Did you want something, Brian?"

The dog shook himself out of the trance he had been under.

"What? No. I…I'm not sure what happened just then. I guess I'm still a little tired. Sorry if that was weird or anything."

The boy shook his head.

"It's ok, Brian."

After that strange little incident, Brian refocused his attention on his food. Deciding it was best to just ignore what just happened. After a couple of minutes, Peter, Chris, and Meg got up from the table to head off for the day. Not long after that, both Brian and Stewie had finished their breakfast. Brian got up from the table, and went off to inspect the mailbox. He quickly grabbed his letter for the day and walked back inside to continue his new daily ritual on the couch. As he was opening the envelope, Stewie walked in and had a seat beside him.

"So, how did that whole chat thing go last night?"

The dog stopped what he was doing. His mind went back to the events of last night. He looked over at Stewie and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"It went…really well."

He laughed nervously. Hopefully, the kid wouldn't get too curious and ask for more details. The boy nodded his head.

"That's good. I guess I'll leave you alone for now. If you need me, you know where to find me."

With that, Stewie jumped off of the couch and walked upstairs. Brian sighed in relief.

_I just got really luck. I have no clue what I would have said if he had kept asking about last night, but I know things would have gotten really awkward._

He went back to work, opening the envelope and pulling out his newest letter. He unfolded it and began reading.

**Dearest Brian,**

**I still can't believe what we did last night. I keep looking back on it, and it all feels like it must have been a dream. It wasn't, though! It really happened! I'm just…god, I can't remember the last time I was this happy! There's really no word I can think of to describe how I feel right now, and for me, I must say, that's quite a feat. I'm not sure what else to say about it. It was a special moment that I'll cherish forever, and I thank you for that, Brian.**

**I've been thinking about all we discussed last night, and I think I'm ready to reveal myself to you. You told me that you would accept me no matter what, and while, I'm still a little uneasy about coming out to you, I trust you, Brian. It won't happen today, though. I still need a full day to really consider it and, if I decide that I'm ready, to really psyche myself up for it. It's a big step and one that I don't take lightly. If I do decide that the time has come for me to tell you who I am, then my next letter will give you a meeting place and a time to meet.**

**That's all I can muster up for now. My mind is buzzing with so many thoughts that it's almost disorienting, and I can't really think of anything else that I need to say at the moment. Have a great day, Brian, and just know, no matter what I end up deciding, I love you. I'll always love you.**

**Love,**

**Your Secret Admirer**

Brian was smiling from ear to ear. His secret admirer was actually considering revealing who they were. Sure, there was no guarantee that that's what was going to end up happening, but something inside him was telling him that tomorrow was going to be the day his life changed forever. After all that had happened so far this week, he didn't see how things could go wrong now. He was meant to be with this person. There was no doubt in his mind that that was the truth. He jumped off of the couch, ran upstairs, and knocked on Stewie's door. Not too long after, the boy opened the door to be greeted by Brian with a huge smile on his face. The child laughed.

"Well, it looks like I'm not the only one who's in a good mood today."

The dog stepped into the room and handed Stewie the day's letter. The child quickly looked it over. When he was done, he looked back up at the dog, smiling warmly.

"This is great, Brian, really. Do you really think it's going to happen, though?"

Without hesitation, the dog nodded his head fiercely.

"These past several days have been some of the best in my life, Stewie. I simply can't believe things could end up going wrong now. I mean, yeah, they said there was a chance that they may decide to keep their identity a secret, but I really believe that tomorrow will be the day that my life finally becomes whole. I need to believe that, Stewie. I have never been this desperate for something to happen. I  _need_ to meet this person, the sooner the better."

Stewie nodded his head, smile still on his face.

"I've never seen you like this before, Brian. I can tell that this really does mean a lot to you, and I just know that things are going to work out for you."

After saying this, the child's expression transformed into a smirk.

"So, uh, what's this part at the beginning? You know, the one where your secret admirer is so happy over something that happened last night."

The dog's eyes went wide. In his excitement to share his good news with Stewie, he had forgotten about that first paragraph. He quickly snatched the letter out of the child's hand and began scratching behind his neck, completely embarrassed.

"Oh, uh, that? It was nothing. We just talked about some things. That's all. You're reading too much into it."

The child folded his arms and looked at the dog with a knowing expression on his face.

"Uh huh. Riiiiiight. You really expect me to believe that?"

The boy chuckled slyly.

"I think I have a good idea of what went on last night, Brian, you dirty dog, you."

This was usually the point where Brian would get angry, but for some reason he couldn't. He was always so defensive when these sorts of subjects came up when he was talking to Stewie, but why was that? It wasn't like the kid wasn't knowledgeable about such subject matters, and it wasn't like the boy was actually making fun of him or anything. The child was just teasing him, playing with him. There was no sense in getting worked up over such things. Besides, Stewie didn't deserve his anger. After all the infant had done for him, he could at least play along with the boy. The dog just laughed at how ridiculous he was being. He took his paw from behind his neck and shrugged.

"Well, what can I say? I'm just that irresistible."

The boy shook his head at this, smile never leaving his face.

"At least one person seems to think so."

The dog nodded his head.

"And that one person is all that matters."

Brian smiled down at the child.

"Listen, Kid. I know I don't always show it like I probably should, but you really mean a lot to me. I know there have been times that I've done and said things that might make it seem like that's not true, but those instances were just me being really fucking stupid at the time. I really don't know what I would do without you, Stewie. You've really been there for me these past several days, and while getting these letters has been great, I would have been missing out on part of the experience without you to discuss them with."

He knelt down so that he was eye level with the boy.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, thank you, Stewie. Thank you for being such a wonderful companion, and thank you for always being there for me even when I wasn't there for myself. I don't know what I would do without you…"

He smirked.

"Even if you are a pain in the ass sometimes."

The dog reached a paw out and ruffled the boy's hair. Stewie giggled at Brian's playfulness. The boy didn't say anything. He just looked at the dog with a joyful smile. It almost looked like he was about to cry, but no tears fell. Finally he just reached his arms out, offering a hug to the canine. Brian eagerly accepted it and pulled the child into a warm and strong embrace. After several seconds, Stewie whispered in his ear.

"I love you, Brian."

The dog gave him a firm squeeze.

"I love you, too, Stewie."

After about a minute, they released each other. Brian stood up and took the child's hand.

"You know what? I feel like doing something today. I'm thinking the park. What do you think?"

The boy looked up at him with an expression of utter bliss.

"That sounds perfect, Brian. Maybe this time I'll actually be able to get some decent play time in."

With that, the two of them walked out of the room and down the stairs. Brian put away his letter, and walked into the kitchen to find Lois doing the dishes.

"Hey, Lois. I was about to head out to the park, and I figured I'd go ahead and bring Stewie along with me, so he could play some."

Lois turned away from the sink to address Brian.

"Alright, you two have fun, and be sure to take care of my sweet baby boy, ok, Brian."

The dog nodded his head.

"Sure thing, Lois. You have nothing to worry about. I'd never let anything hurt Stewie."

Lois smiled at this before turning back toward the dishes in the sink. As she got back to work, Brian and Stewie made their way out of the house and over to Brian's Prius. Brian opened the passenger side door, placed the boy in his car seat, and buckled him in before walking over to the other side and hopping into the driver's seat. He looked over at the child.

"Ready, Kid."

The infant just nodded, eyes filled with joy. The dog started the car and pulled out of the driveway. He was happier than he had ever been and was excited to spend the day with his little buddy. It only took a couple of minutes to get to the park. Brian parked the car and unbuckled Stewie who quickly jumped out of the car and ran over to Brian's side. The dog cut off the engine and hopped out. The two of them walked together until they reached a bench. Brian took a seat, and Stewie ran off to go play. The dog folded his arms behind his head and sighed, content. He closed his eyes, allowing the sun's warmth to wash over him. Life was so good right now. He could never go back to the way things were before. Things were finally changing for the better. After a while of relaxing on the bench, Brian could feel himself slipping into a nap. He opened one eye to check on Stewie. The kid was playing in the sandbox, building something. The dog could that the boy was going to be there for a while. A quick nap wouldn't hurt. He reclosed his eye and shifted himself to get more comfortable. It didn't take him long to fall asleep. Stewie was in his dreams.

* * *

"Hey, Brian?"

The dog was jolted out of his pleasant sleep by the sound of Stewie's voice. He looked down at the child to see what the matter was.

"What's up, Kid."

The child didn't answer right away. For a couple of seconds he just stood there, looking nervous. Finally, he spoke up.

"Could you push me on the swing?"

The dog smiled down at the baby.

"Of course, Stewie."

He got up from the bench and stretched before taking the boy's hand and leading him over to the swing set. He picked him up, placed him in the swing, and took his position behind the child. He grabbed both of the chains.

"All set, Kid?"

The boy giggled and nodded his head, swinging his legs back and forth due to the anticipation. The dog pulled the swing back.

"Alright. Here. We."

He let go of the swing.

"Go!"

Stewie shot forward in the swing and squealed in delight. When the child came back, the dog gave him a firm push, sending the child swinging higher and earning another laugh. They kept this up for a couple of minutes, with Brian making sure to maintain the same height and speed. Eventually, Stewie called out to him.

"Higher, Brian! I want to go higher!"

Happy to oblige, the dog pushed Stewie harder, causing his altitude to increase. Stewie closed his eyes from a mixture of excitement and fear. He called out again.

"Higher!"

This earned a similar response from the dog as he pushed even harder to send the infant even higher. This time, at the peak of his ascent, Stewie could feel himself sliding out of the seat. He panicked for a brief moment and let go of the swing, causing him to fall out of it!

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

The dog saw what was happening and acted quickly. He jumped forward and caught the screaming child before he could hit the ground. The dog turned in midair and landed on his back roughly, knocking the wind out of him. He grimaced from the pain it caused, but quickly forgot about his own discomfort to check on Stewie. The child was shaking, obviously still shocked at what had just happened. Brian squeezed him, worried.

"Are you ok, Stewie?"

After a couple of seconds, the boy looked up at him and nodded. He seemed to be calming down. Brian stood up but didn't let go of the infant. He walked them back over to the bench he had been sleeping on and sat down. He stayed like that, just holding the baby, for several minutes before setting the child down on the bench beside him. At this point, the boy had recovered from his shock. He looked over at the dog and chuckled dryly.

"I guess I'm a little out of practice when it comes to the swings."

The child jumped off of the bench and turned around to face the dog again.

"Well, thanks anyway, Brian. That was really fun. At least, before the part where I almost fell to my death it was."

Brian smiled at him.

"Anytime, Stewie."

The boy stood there for a couple more seconds before running off to go play somewhere else.

* * *

A few hours passed by. Brian spent the majority of the time sitting on the bench and keeping a close eye on Stewie. After their incident with the swings, he wasn't going to take any chances. The child walked over from time to time to ask him if he would play with him, and each time, Brian agreed. They also spent some time sitting together and just talking, mainly about the dog's secret admirer. It started to get later into the afternoon, and Brian was thinking that they would probably have to leave soon. A couple minutes later, he heard someone calling his name.

"Hey, Brian!"

The dog turned to see a familiar looking woman walking toward him.

"Cindy?"

She took a seat beside him.

"Yeah. I had a feeling that I would be seeing you around here again. You kind of just took off on me out of nowhere last time, and I was a little disappointed by that. I was hoping we could talk some more."

Brian looked at her seriously.

"Look, Cindy, I'm sorry about how I acted last time. I acted like a complete jerk taking off on you like that, especially since you were so nice. You see, I've been going through a lot lately, and you just caught me at a bad time."

Cindy just shrugged.

"I understand how that is. It's fine, Brian."

She smiled at him.

"At least I'm getting to see you again. I was thinking we were hitting it off pretty well that first time, even if things ended kind of awkwardly."

Brian smiled back at her and laughed.

"Yeah, we were. I actually wanted to ask you for your phone number last time, but I got distracted with other things."

At this, the woman gave him a flirtatious look.

"Well, why don't you ask for it now?"

Brian shook his head, earning a disappointed look from the woman.

"I'm flattered, Cindy, but I've already been taken by someone I really care about, and I could never bring myself to hurt them like that."

The woman frowned at this.

"Oh, well, I guess I should go then. I'm sorry for bothering you, Brian."

With that, Cindy shot up off the bench and marched off, obviously angered by this revelation. Brian just sat there, mouth wide open and not sure what to make of what just happened.

 _I guess that was the_ real _Cindy just then_

Brian heard the sound of someone clearing their throat coming from the left. He looked over and saw Stewie standing to the side. The child had apparently been watching his brief conversation with Cindy. The infant walked up to him.

"Who was that?"

The dog shook his head.

"Honestly, I have no idea."

This answer seemed to appease the boy.

"Alright, then. Anyway, the sun is starting to go down. We should probably head home. Unless you want to spend the night here, which I would have no problem with."

Brian rolled his eyes at this.

"I'm sure you wouldn't, but no, we can't do that. I was just thinking about how late it was getting, also, and I was just about to tell you it was time to go anyway."

He stood up.

"Come on, Stewie. Let's go home."

The two of them walked back to the car, got in, and drove off.

* * *

When Brian and Stewie got back to the Griffin house, dinner was ready. They walked into the kitchen and took their seats before getting their food and chowing down. When they got done, they made their way upstairs to Stewie's room. Brian wanted to get to bed early due to his eagerness to begin the next day, and Stewie said he might as well go ahead and go to bed, too. When they got in the room, the dog helped the boy get ready for bed. It didn't take too long to get the child out of his regular clothes and into his blue pajamas. Once the boy was all set, Brian picked him up and went to go put him in his crib, but Stewie stopped him.

"I want to sleep with you, Brian."

The dog smiled at him.

"Ok."

He grabbed Stewie's pillow and blanket and made them a spot on the floor he set Stewie down on the pillow and then lay down beside the child before taking the blanket and covering them both with it. The dog wrapped an arm around the infant and pulled him into a snuggling position.

"Goodnight, Stewie."

"Goodnight, Brian."


	6. Friday: Secret Admirer!?

Brian couldn't sleep. He was currently lying next to Stewie, eyes shut tightly, with the house unusually silent, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to allow himself to drift off into a relaxing slumber. There was simply too much on his mind at the moment. In less than twenty-four hours, there was a good chance that he would finally be with his secret admirer, his soul mate, and the anticipation was too much. It was driving him crazy. His eyes shot open in frustration. He had no idea what time it was. All he knew was that it had to be after midnight. Time seemed like it was at a standstill. He felt like a child waiting for Christmas morning. He had to find a way to get to sleep. Today was the worst day possible for him to be exhausted. He nudged the child sleeping next to him.

"Stewie?"

There was no sign that the boy had heard him, so he did it again.

"Stewie?"

The child moved and moaned, indicating his displeasure from being awakened from his deep sleep. After about a minute, he finally rolled over to look at the dog.

"What is it, Brian?"

The dog sat up.

"I can't sleep. I keep thinking about today. I'm too excited to sleep, but I know that I need to or else I'll be too tired to focus on meeting my secret admirer."

Stewie sat up and looked up at the dog.

"Brian, you just need to relax. I know it's hard to ignore something when you're this excited, but right now, you need to put those thoughts in the back of your mind. Don't forget them. Just save them for later."

He grabbed the dog's arm and pulled so that the canine would lie back down.

"Here. Roll onto your side and close your eyes."

Brian listened to the boy and did what he was told. He could feel Stewie laying back down and snuggling against him. The child put an arm on his side.

"Now, take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Try to calm yourself, relax."

The dog followed the infant's instructions. He felt Stewie's hand beginning to pet him.

"There we are. That's it. Keep doing that, Brian."

Brian moaned before continuing to breathe. The way Stewie was petting him right now. It felt incredibly good. He could feel himself beginning to relax, and before he knew it, sleep was overtaking him. He yawned, rolled over onto his other side, and pulled Stewie against his body before finally falling asleep.

* * *

The dog's eyes shot open. He jumped up into a sitting position and looked out the nearby window.

_Daylight_

Today was the day. He quickly got to his feet and practically ran down the stairs. Before he could make it to the door, he was stopped by Stewie who was already up and sitting on the couch.

"Morning, Brian."

The canine turned around to smile at his friend.

"Morning, Stewie."

The child got off of the couch and walked over to join the dog by the door.

"You off to see whether or not your secret admirer decided to meet with you or not?"

The dog nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be back in a second. You can stay down here if you want."

Stewie smiled at him.

"Alright then. I guess I'll let you go get that letter now. I hope there's good news inside."

Brian opened the door.

"Me to, Stewie."

With that, he walked outside and over to the mailbox. He opened the mailbox and retrieved his letter before walking back inside and taking a seat on the couch beside Stewie. He just stared at the envelope for a second. Then, he looked over at the boy sitting next to him.

"Well, here's the moment of truth."

He sucked in a huge breath before ripping the envelope open, pulling out the letter, and unfolding it. He looked at what it said, and a ridiculous grin spread across his face.

**Park. Bench by the sandbox. 5:00 PM. I look forward to seeing you. :)**

Brian started laughing.

"Yes! We're meeting today!"

Stewie smiled at the dog, warmly.

"That's wonderful, Brian! I'm so happy for you! When and where are you guys meeting?"

The dog put the letter back in the envelope and turned to address Stewie.

"We're meeting at the park at five o'clock."

He hopped off the couch and turned back to face the dog.

"Only four more hours until you're finally with your secret admirer. Good luck, Brian. I hope it all goes well."

At that, the child proceeded up the stairs and to his room. Brian just sat there taking in the reality of the situation. Today really was the day where everything was going change. He had, what had Stewie said, four hours until he had to meet his secret admirer.

_Wait a minute. Four hours?_

At that moment he realized that he wasn't sure what time it was currently. He walked into the kitchen and looked at his phone. Stewie had been right. It was already a little past one o'clock.

_Shit! I overslept again. I should probably go ahead and start getting ready. I want to look my best for this person. Even if they are in love with me, making a good impression certainly wouldn't hurt. This meeting has to be perfect._

He put down his phone and walked upstairs to get a shower. He walked into the bathroom, took off his collar, and turned the water on, making sure to get it to a suitable temperature before cutting on the showerhead and pulling the curtain closed as he stepped into the shower, where he was sure to remain for a while. He didn't really do this that often because it took such a long time to wash himself thoroughly. Never mind the fact that being a dog made it so that he didn't really like taking baths or showers in the first place, but he at least understood the necessity of it, unlike most of his canine brethren. If there was ever a perfect time for him to do this, it was now, though. He reached up and grabbed the shampoo that was intended only for him. He then squirted some of it into his paw and lathered it up before beginning to rub it into his fur. He made sure to rub it in deep, wanting to get especially clean this time for his secret admirer. It took a good while for him to get his entire body properly shampooed. Once he was finished with that, he began repeating the process. He took his time with each repetition of the bathing process, assuring that, when he got out, he'd probably be the cleanest he'd ever been. After shampooing the entirety of his body three times and rinsing all the shampoo out of his fur, he cut off the water, pulled the curtain open, and stepped out onto the mat on the floor before grabbing a nearby towel. He got himself as dry as he could with the towel, at least wanting to get himself dry enough that he wouldn't end up dripping water everywhere as he moved around the bathroom. After that, he walked over to the sink and grabbed the blow dryer. He spent a good long time blow drying his fur until it was completely dry. Once that was done, he grabbed his tooth brush and opened the door below the sink to recover his special dog toothpaste that he had to keep hidden so that Chris wouldn't end up using it accidently. He wet the toothbrush and then applied the toothpaste before setting to work, brushing his teeth. As with the shower, Brian made sure to get his teeth especially clean. He already had an amazingly charming smile, and having really clean teeth only made it that much better. He went back over all his teeth several times before spitting into the sink and rinsing the toothbrush clean. He smiled at himself in the mirror.

"Oh, yeah. You're ready for this."

He reached over, grabbed his collar, and put it on before exiting the bathroom. He walked into Peter and Lois's room to grab his tux. While he was in there, he looked at the clock. It said it was currently  **2:37**.

_Less than two and a half hours to go. I should have plenty of time to do everything I want to._

He grabbed his tux and quickly put it on before walking back out into the hall and over toward Stewie's room to knock on the door. After several seconds, the door opened. Stewie's jaw dropped at the sight of Brian, and he followed that reaction up with a wolf-whistle.

"My word, Brian. You're looking…nice at the moment, but I'm assuming you didn't just dress up for me."

The dog rolled his eyes at this.

"Hah, hah, very funny Stewie. I'm dressed up to go meet my secret admirer. I was coming to ask your opinion on how I looked, and judging from your reaction, I'm assuming it's a positive one."

Stewie nodded his head.

"As positive as positive can be. You're going to blow this person away when they see you…but wait a minute? You still have a little less than two and a half hours before you have to go meet this person. Surely, you're not leaving now. Are you?"

Brian nodded his head.

"Yeah, there are some things I'd like to make sure I get done first. I want this meeting to be perfect. I'm going all out Stewie. I'm going to make sure that I, as you said, blow this person away."

The boy smiled at this.

"Well, if you're leaving now…"

He extended his hand, offering it for the dog to shake.

"Good luck, Buddy."

Brian accepted the child's handshake but then pulled him into a hug. He patted the boy's back.

"Thanks again, Stewie, for everything."

With those words, he pulled away from the infant, giving him one last smile before turning around and heading down the stairs. He made a quick stop in the kitchen to grab his phone before leaving the house, hopping into his car, and driving off toward downtown Quahog.

* * *

While Brian was downtown he picked up a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates to give to his secret admirer. Sure, that might have been a little obvious as something he would get for a romantic partner, but hey, the classics were classics for a reason, and who was he to argue with that. He had ended up spending about half an hour each in the stores where he bought the items as he made sure to get advice from some of the employees there when making his selections. By the time he was done downtown, it was a little past four. He set the items in the back of his car before getting inside and setting his course for the park. It didn't take him too long to get there, so he knew he had some time to kill. He looked at the time. It was a little over half past four. It wouldn't be long now. He sat in the car for a while psyching himself up for the meeting that was about to take place.

_Alright, Brian. This is it. You're about to meet the woman of your dreams. Everything is going to work out. Today is the day that changes everything. All those failures from the past, they mean nothing now. This is a fresh start and a chance for you to start building a better life, and the best part is, you'll finally have that special someone by your side to keep you going even when things get bad._

He looked at the clock again. It was a quarter till five. He took a deep breath.

_Showtime._

He got out of the car and opened the back seat to retrieve the gifts he had bought for his secret admirer. He shut the door and locked the car before shutting the driver's side door, also. The park was empty. The sun was about to go down, but even with that knowledge, it was still strange to see the area so deserted. He walked across the field all the way past the sandbox and over to the nearby bench that he usually used. He took a seat and sat up straight before looking around the area to see if he could see anyone coming. There was no one in sight, but that was fine. There was still about ten minutes left to go before it actually turned five. He just sat there, heart beating rapidly, increasing in speed with each minute that passed by. He couldn't stand the waiting it was killing him. He had no idea how long he had been sitting there. His sense of time was completely distorted. After what he thought had been several minutes. He began to worry.

_I hope they didn't change their mind. I don't know if I could handle that._

Just when his initial optimism about the situation began to fade, he heard someone calling his name.

"Hey, Brian."

Wait a minute, he knew that voice. He looked to his left and was shocked to see Stewie walking toward him. For a moment, he was speechless, but he quickly regained his composure.

"St-Stewie? What the hell are you doing here? Were you planning to spy on this meeting!?"

The boy shook his head.

"No, Br-Brian. I'm here…to meet with you."

The dog looked at him, confused. The child smiled at him, nervously.

"This is, after all, the time and place I specified in my last letter. You said you wanted to meet with me, so…"

He exhaled a breath.

"Here I am…My Love."

Brian didn't understand what Stewie was saying. It took him several moments to process just what was going. He began to get angry.

"What is this, some kind of joke!? Hah, hah, very funny, Stewie. Now, get out of here before my secret admirer shows up!"

The infant frowned at this.

"Brian, this isn't a joke. I-I'm your secret admirer. All those letters were from  _me_."

The dog just shook his head.

"No, no, no, that's just ridiculous, Stewie! Why the fuck would you do that!?"

The boy began to get annoyed. He slammed his foot down and clenched his fists.

"Because I'm in love with you, damn it!"

Brian looked seriously at the child. Up until this point, he had honestly believed that Stewie had just been messing with him, but now he saw just how serious this all was. His jaw dropped and he let the items he was holding fall to the ground.

"No. No, you can't love me! Stewie, do you even hear yourself right now!?"

The boy just stared him down.

"Yes, Brian, I hear myself loud and clear, and I'll say it again just in case you don't believe me. I'm. In. Love. With. You."

Brian didn't know what to do. This was all wrong. What the hell was he supposed to do. It had been Stewie the entire time. All those letters he had read had been from, Stewie. The person he had chatted online with had been Stewie!

_This can't be happening!_

The boy climbed up and took a seat beside him.

"I know it's a lot to take in, Brian, but you shouldn't freak out about this."

The dog just stared at the baby, dumbfounded. He laughed sarcastically.

"I shouldn't freak out about this!? No, Stewie, if there was ever something I needed to freak out at, this would be it! I just…I don't even…this is too much!"

He shot up off the seat and made like he was going to leave, but he stopped when he heard Stewie.

"So, what? You're just going to leave me here!?"

Brian didn't even bother turning around to address the infant.

"You got here yourself, you can get back home by yourself, too."

He was about to start walking again, but he was stopped again by the child grabbing his paw.

"Brian, please don't do this. Can't we at least talk first?"

The dog jerked his paw free and did a complete one-eighty on his heel. He starred down at the boy, infuriated.

"Talk!? Talk about what!? You mean, talk about all that stuff you wrote! All that stuff I clung to with everything I had!? All that stuff that I truly believed meant something!?"

The infant took a couple of steps back, with a mixture of fear and sadness etched on his face. The dog just laughed, darkly.

"Or maybe you just mean you wanna talk about that letter where you talked about your little "fantasy"! You know, the one I fucking wacked off to! But, oh no, that's not even the good part! How about that little conversation we had online! Let's talk about all the terrible things you tricked me into describing myself doing to you! Yeah, let's talk about that! That'll be a fucking funny story!"

He rolled his eyes.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Stewie!? I knew you were fucked up in the head, but I had  _nooooo_  idea you were this messed up! Was all that stuff true!? The parts about you doing stuff with guys!?"

The child just nodded his head and sniffled.

"Yes. It was all true."

Brian didn't know what to say to this. He just sighed, completely exhausted from yelling. Stewie took a step forward.

"It was  _all_ true. I meant everything I said in those letters, Brian. If you want to judge me because of some things I said I did, fine, but don't use that as an excuse to ignore everything else I said. I love you, Brian. I meant it in the letters, and I mean it now."

The dog shook his head slowly, and looked at the child sadly.

"No, Stewie. You don't love me. You just think you do because you're trying to get started on this type of thing way earlier than you should. Did you love all those other guys, too? Did they say they loved you? If they did, I'm sorry, but it wasn't true, Stewie. They were just sick fucks who took advantage of you, and you're going to tell me who they were so I can find every last one of them and beat the shit out of them before turning them over to the police. You need help, Stewie. This isn't right, and deep down, you know it isn't."

The child just shook his head fiercely.

"No, that's not it at all! You're turning this into something it's not! Yes, I've had sexual encounters with various men, but I made the choice to do that! None of them took advantage of me! Some of them did say they loved me, but I knew they were full of shit when they said it! I don't need help, Brian."

He looked down at the ground.

"I need you."

There was a moment of silence before he looked up to continue.

"You mean everything to me, Brian, and I just want to be everything to you. You said you would accept me no matter what. You said that I deserved a chance. What changed?"

Brian just sighed again.

"I would have never said those things if I had known that I was actually talking about you, Stewie."

A sniffle came from the boy.

"I knew it. I knew you would take it back. I knew I shouldn't have bothered letting you know it was me. I knew I was stupid to actually think that maybe things would work out between us."

Brian knelt down so that he was eye level with the infant.

"I'm sorry, Stewie, but there can never be anything between us. You're not ready for something like that, no matter how much you may think you are. I care about you, Stewie, but it's not like that."

The dog put his finger under the boy's chin and lifted his head up so that their gazes met.

"I'm sorry you had to get your heart broken like this. I know how much that hurts, but you'll understand when you're older."

Brian was about to stand up, but suddenly he felt himself being pulled down by Stewie who had taken a hold of his shirt collar. In an instant, the boy's lips met his in a kiss born of desperation. The dog's eyes shot open, and he immediately, began trying to escape, but Stewie's grip was firm, so there was nothing he could do. The child pushed his tongue into the dog's mouth, and Brian tried to resist it. He began to panic, but then, he felt the infant's tongue brush against his own and he shivered. He began to enjoy the kiss and even started to kiss back, but he quickly came to his senses and forced his mouth away from the boy's. They were both panting for breath, and Stewie was giving the dog a surprisingly enticing look. He gulped.

_What are you doing, Brian!? This has to end now!_

The child went in for another kiss, but the dog turned his head away and spoke firmly.

"Stop, Stewie."

He looked back to see an extremely disappointed look on the boy's face. The child's grip loosened, and Brian took the opportunity to pull away and stand up, making sure to brush himself off. He pointed toward the car.

"Get in."

The baby lowered his head to the ground and began walking toward the vehicle. On the outside, Brian looked like he hadn't been phased by what Stewie had done, but on the inside, he was panicking because the more he thought about that kiss, the more he couldn't deny the fact that he had actually liked it somewhat. Ok, he had liked it a lot, but that didn't mean anything. This whole situation was just fucked up, and he needed to get him and Stewie both home as soon as possible before something terrible happened. Satisfied, that Stewie was finally listening, he followed after the boy. When they both got to the car, Brian quickly put Stewie in his car seat before getting into the driver's seat and starting the engine. Before he left, he looked over at Stewie. He had never seen the boy so upset, and his heart ached at the sight. He was hoping that they would be able to put this whole incident behind them, but something was telling him there was no chance of that ever happening. Brian had been right. Today had been the day that everything changed, but it hadn't been the change he had been hoping for. He shook his head.

_I guess that's what I get for getting my hopes up. I should have known it was too good to be true._

He placed the car in drive and pulled out onto the road.

* * *

When Brian and Stewie got home, it was dark. Brian parked the car and unbuckled his seat belt. He looked over at Stewie, who still had his head down in sadness. Neither of them said a word as the dog unbuckled the boy. They both got out of the car and slowly walked into the house. Peter and Chris were sitting on the couch watching TV, and Lois was in the kitchen preparing dinner. It seemed just like a normal night at the Griffin house, but it was far from that. Neither Brian nor Stewie was particularly hungry. Brian just wanted to go upstairs and go to bed. He made a quick stop by the kitchen to inform Lois that he wouldn't be eating dinner and then made his way up the stairs. He got to Peter and Lois's room and went to open the door but stopped when he heard Stewie calling out to him.

"Brian, please don't leave me like this. If you let me just explain, I can…"

The dog raised a paw, indicating he wanted Stewie to stop.

"We'll talk about this tomorrow, Stewie, but right now…"

He turned his head to look at Stewie. He looked extremely sad and tired.

"I need to be alone.'

The boy didn't say anything else as the dog stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. The canine took off his suit and tossed it on the floor, not really caring about not putting it up properly. He climbed up on the bed, and lay down. His mind was buzzing with a million thoughts at once. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle something like this. The situation terrified him, and it wasn't just the fact that Stewie was in love with him that was scary. What was even scarier was the fact that no matter what he did, he couldn't stop thinking about that kiss and how much he had enjoyed it.

_What's wrong with me?_

He closed his eyes, and before long, he was asleep, dreaming of that kiss and what would have happened if he had given in. In his sleep he mumbled one word.

"Stewie."


	7. Saturday: The Day Everything Changed

Brian's eyes shot open as he awakened from a very disturbing dream. In his dream the events described in his online chat with Stewie actually happened, and…he had enjoyed it…a lot. He shook his head.

_Why can't I stop thinking about him like that now!? I've never been attracted to Stewie!_

At that moment, he thought back to an incident from a while back where he had come on to the child while the boy was in disguise as a female, as if to refute his own claim that he had never found the infant sexually attractive. He shook his head again.

_No. Th-that was different. Yeah. I didn't know that it was actually Stewie in disguise then. I thought it was someone else._

He knew that wasn't true. A part of him had known that it was Stewie he was fooling around with. How could he not? He had seen the boy in disguise on several occasions. Not to mention, he could always tell when the child was around due to his scent. A scent that Brian knew very,  _very_  well. He knew it had been Stewie the entire time. What had gotten into him that day? Why had he done that? This was the first time he had thought about the incident since blocking it from his memory not long after it had occurred, and now he was beginning to question whether or not he actually  _wanted_ Stewie. That kiss in the park had awakened something in him, made him realize something that he had been hiding from himself for a very long time. He sighed.

 _Shit. I am attracted to Stewie_.

As if things weren't bad enough already, now he had to deal with the sick fact that he was a pedophile. What was he going to do? He sat up and looked over at the clock. It was already ten in the morning, but no one in the house was awake, all of them having decided to sleep in. It was Saturday after all, might as well. Brian wished he could do the same, but he was wide awake now, pondering all this new information he was learning about himself and trying to decide what his next course of action should be. He hopped off of the bed and walked out of the room before heading downstairs to retrieve the letters he had received over the course of the past week. He began reading through them. He wasn't sure why he was doing this. All he knew was that he was trying to make sense out of a senseless situation. Maybe reading through these letters, now that he knew who they were from, would help. He flipped over to the first one he had received and skimmed over it. He had expected to feel disgusted while reading these now that he knew that Stewie had written them, but that's not how he felt at all. He had the exact same feeling in his chest that he had had when he'd originally read it. The words ignited a passion within him that was both exhilarating and terrifying. He went back and read over a few of his favorite lines.

**To put things simply, I'm in love with you, Brian…**

He couldn't help but smile at this, despite knowing that it was wrong to be so happy to read something like that. He looked at the part where Stewie talked about being afraid of rejection, and he felt a pang of guilt.

_He was right to worry about that, but I did the right thing. I can't be with Stewie like that._

**I want it more than anything…**

_He doesn't know what he wants. He's just a kid._

_**I** _ **understand you, Brian, and I just know that, if you give me a chance, I can fill that empty space in your heart.**

_Stewie does understand me, more than I probably understand myself sometimes, and what he wrote here is just so poignant it almost makes me believe his love for me is real. But it can't be. He's too young to understand things like that._

Brian finished looking over the first letter. Reading it now, he couldn't believe he hadn't figured out who it was that wrote it.

_Everything about it sounds exactly like, Stewie. I can't even read through it anymore without hearing his voice, and it just…fits. Actually, now that I think about it…_

He brought the letters up to his nose and inhaled deeply before letting out a long exhale, practically moaning as he did so.

"Ohhhhhh."

He slapped himself mentally for that reaction, but still, it confirmed his suspicion.

_They even smell like Stewie. How the fuck did I miss that!?_

The dog flipped to the next letter and read through it.

**I've come really close to confessing how I feel on quite a few occasions now…**

He thought back to one particular moment that that sentence reminded him of. He and Stewie had been trapped in a bank vault together, and he had just confided in the child his struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide. Stewie had said that he loved him then, and for a moment, the dog had actually thought the infant had meant romantically. It made him happy to hear that, but then, Stewie quickly specified it as a platonic love. For a split second, he had been a little disappointed.

_What would have happened if Stewie hadn't lied about how he really felt? What would I have done?_

… **even though it hurts, I wouldn't give it up for anything because I couldn't imagine my life not knowing you.**

The dog felt a knot forming in his throat. These were such powerful words, and they had meant so much to him before. No, they still meant a lot to him, maybe even more so now that he knew where they were from.

_I couldn't imagine my life without knowing you either, Stewie._

**If things ever work out between us, I want it to be because it's what we both want not because it's what I need.**

The dog's mouth fell open. He had forgotten this part.

_Stewie wrote…that?_

That didn't sound like the kind of love a child felt for their crush. That didn't sound like any love Brian had ever had the pleasure of experiencing. That love sounded so…real, and the way the child had worded that sentence was so beyond anything any normal child could ever come up with. A small laugh escaped his lips.

_Of course, Stewie isn't a normal child. He's…more than that, but that doesn't change anything, does it?_

**...you're so much more than that, Brian, especially to me.**

_Damn it!_

He cursed himself. These letters were actually starting to get to him. It was probably a good idea to put them away and never look at them again. He couldn't, though.

_I…I have to keep reading…t-to better understand the situation. Yeah._

He flipped over to the next letter.

… **it should go without saying that, since I feel the way I do about you, I'd also want to** _ **be**_ **with you.**

Brian couldn't argue with that. If Stewie  _really_ loved him, it would make perfect sense for him to want…other things as well. He read the description of Stewie's fantasy, and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't bring himself to feel disgusted by it. There was just nothing that disgusting about it. It just came across as…sweet. It wasn't just about the sex. It was about them being together, and reading it warmed the dog's heart a little. He also got a bit of a rise out of it, another indication that the idea of him and Stewie being together didn't really bother him, despite him knowing that it should.

**I've done sexual things with guys before…**

After reading that bit, the dog clenched his paws into fists as a wave of anger washed over him, thinking about some sick pervert taking advantage of poor little Stewie, but then, he read a little further.

**I want my true first time to be with you.**

The dog's anger subsided as something dawned on him. If Stewie had truly been taken advantage of, then it wouldn't have mattered what he wanted. If the kid had saved himself for him, that meant that everything the child had done with these men had happened because it had been  _Stewie's_ decision. He'd known for a while that Stewie was knowledgeable about sexual topics, but he'd never really thought to consider that Stewie's knowledge had come about from more than just a child's curiosity. Maybe Stewie knew so much because he actively wanted it.

_Stewie has a sex drive? I-is that even possible?_

Honestly, considering everything else about the boy, it wouldn't be that surprising. If Stewie really did have honest sexual desires, and he had given his consent to be with those men, did that make it ok? It was a debatable topic to be sure, and Brian didn't know what side he was on. Even if he did decide that Stewie fooling around with a bunch of guys wasn't something to get worked up about, he still couldn't stop himself from getting angry at the thought of it, and he wasn't sure why that would be the case.

_I…just don't know how to feel about this anymore._

He flipped to the next letter. It was the invitation from Stewie to join him in the chat room. Immediately, Brian's mind recalled their special "session". It had been Stewie the whole time, and he was right upstairs. The thought of them being so close to each other while they did what they did sent the blood rushing to his groin, but then, he remembered everything else about their chat like their playful banter and his own promise to accept his secret admirer and give them a chance no matter who they ended up being, a promise he had gone back on.

_That was wrong of me. I promised Stewie, whether I knew it was him or not, I promised him that I would accept his love._

After all the kid had done for him, not just with the letters, but everything else, also, if anyone had earned that chance, it was Stewie.

_It's not that simple._

That was his only argument at this point, and he wasn't even sure it was true. Everything he was feeling at the moment, it went completely against what was accepted in society, but then again, it wouldn't be the first time that he had believed in something that was considered immoral according to the law.

_But what if I'm kidding myself!? What if I'm allowing my twisted emotions to cloud my judgment here!?_

He flipped to the next letter.

**I can't remember the last time I was this happy!**

That had been Stewie's reaction to what had happened in the chat room. He felt a sense of pride, and he let a small smile grace his lips as he imagined the boy typing out those words with a silly grin on his face. It was an adorable sight. He wished could have seen it.

_But…wait. I did see that smile. That morning when I woke up, I saw Stewie smiling. He was smiling about…that._

It hadn't been just words. Stewie had really been overjoyed at what they had done.

_He was genuinely happy, and…it was because it had been with me._

That was the proof right there. Stewie's love for him was real, but what was he supposed to do with that knowledge?

**I'll always love you.**

He no longer doubted those words. Stewie was young, yes, but he wasn't naïve. He knew the weight of those words, and he had still meant them. Now there was one other thing to consider.

_Do I love Stewie, too?_

He now knew he was attracted to Stewie, but was he only attracted to him because, deep down, he was actually in love with the child.

_I'm not attracted to other children. It's just Stewie. That must mean something, right?_

He wasn't sure, but he couldn't deny it was possible. Really, it made sense for him to develop feelings for Stewie. Stewie was the only person he could always count on to be there. Stewie was the one he had confided his most private secrets to. That right there meant the boy had a special place in his heart that could never be replaced by another, but was that the place he had reserved for his soul mate? Is that what Stewie was to him? He flipped to the last letter. All that was on it was the time and place of the meeting from yesterday. He thought about how he had acted.

_I was such a jerk to him! He didn't deserve that, even if I don't love him! What was I thinking!?_

He knew what he had been thinking. He had been thinking about how disappointed he had been to see Stewie, and it wasn't because the child being his secret admirer was the disappointing part. The disappointing part had been that he didn't think that he and Stewie could actually be together. He'd had his hopes crushed, and he had taken out that anger on Stewie.

 _But there's a chance that my hopes weren't actually crushed at all. I reacted too quickly. I was too confused to think it through._   _If I love Stewie, and he loves me, and it's alright for us to be together, then that meeting should have gone much differently than it had._

It made a lot of sense. He'd been clinging to this idea of a secret admirer because he thought it provided him with a chance to finally be with someone who loved him. When Stewie had shown up, the first thing he thought about was how it was wrong for them to be together, so that idea, in his eyes, had meant nothing. He couldn't accept that Stewie's feelings for him were real, either, so he had brought up the part in one of the letters where Stewie had mentioned fooling around with other guys as a way to justify those feelings and make sense of a situation he couldn't allow himself to comprehend. The kid had been right, he had been turning the situation into something it wasn't, trying to shield himself from the truth, a truth that he had hidden away long ago because he wasn't yet ready to accept it.

_I'm in love with Stewie._

And Stewie was in love with him. Suddenly, everything was clear. He said it out loud in a whisper.

"I'm in love with Stewie."

The words flowed right out of him like he had been waiting to say them forever. Just then, he heard a bloodcurdling scream come from upstairs.

"Oh my god! Where's Stewie!?"

At these words, Brian ran upstairs to find Lois in a panic, frantically searching Stewie's crib. He was soon joined by the rest of the family, who had been awakened by her scream. Brian stepped into the room.

"Lois!? What happened!?"

The woman turned around clutching one of her son's sheets.

"I-I can't find Stewie anywhere! Oh god! Where's my baby!?"

At that moment, Meg spoke up.

"You guys, why's the window open?"

Everyone focused their attention on the window. Tears began to form in Lois's eyes before turning to face her husband, who seemed oblivious.

"Peter! Someone snuck in here and took Stewie! W-We have to call Joe or s-somebody! Oh god! My baby's been kidnapped!"

With that she ran out of the room to grab a phone. The others followed after her, but Brian stayed. He had a feeling that Stewie being gone was his doing. After the way he had treated the boy the other day, he could understand the child wanting to get away. Stewie was probably really hurting right now.

_This is my fault! If I hadn't been such a moron, Stewie wouldn't have taken off!_

He'd fucked up…bad, but he could still remedy the situation. He could still find Stewie and not just to bring the child back home but to also tell the boy that he accepted his feelings and wanted to be with him. He sniffed the air and quickly picked up Stewie's sent. He ran downstairs to see that Joe had already arrived. The entire family looked distraught, honestly believing that the youngest member of their household was in the clutches of some terrible sicko somewhere. He wanted to tell them that wasn't the case, but would they honestly believe him if he told them the truth, well, minus the whole part about him and Stewie being in love with each other, of course, but all the truth that didn't involve that bit? He knew they wouldn't, and really, it was probably for the best to keep this just between him and Stewie, anyway. He went to leave the house, but he was stopped by the voice of Lois calling him.

"Br-Brian? Where are you going?"

He had to lie. They'd hate him for it, but it had to be done.

"I was just going to head downtown to take care of a few things."

The family looked at him in disbelief. Lois didn't look pleased.

"What!? You're just going to leave!? What about Stewie!? Don't you care about him, Brian!?"

_More than you'll probably ever know, Lois._

"Just trust me, Lois. I need to get out of here."

Without another word, he opened the door and stepped outside. Before he shut the door, he heard Chris speak up.

"Mr. Swanson? Am I ever going to see my baby brother again?"

"You will if I have anything to say about it, Chris, but I can't promise you anything just yet."

The dog had heard enough. He shut the door and walked over to the area right outside Stewie's window. He got down on all fours and sniffed the ground, picking up the child's scent once again. There was no telling how far Stewie had gotten, and from what the dog could tell, the child had headed off toward West Quahog. This knowledge brought on an anger within him, but he put it away for now. If his suspicions were correct, he'd be using that anger soon enough, but right now, all that mattered was finding Stewie. He began walking, keeping his nose to the ground to follow the scent. He knew he had quite a trek ahead of him, but he also knew it was all going to be worth it in the end.

* * *

Brian walked for hours, never stopping despite becoming extremely exhausted along the way. It was already early in the evening, though he wasn't sure of the specific time, and he'd just arrived in West Quahog. Stewie's scent was getting stronger, which was a good indication he was on the right track. He pressed on, determined to find the boy and right the wrongs he had committed the day before. Several people stopped to stare at him, but he paid them no mind. They didn't matter. Only Stewie mattered. As he journeyed further, he began to get nervous. This was the seedy side of town, and whatever Stewie had come here for, couldn't have been something he was going to like. It took him another hour or so before he finally traced the scent to one building in particular. It was a rundown apartment complex with several floors. This wasn't looking good.

_I have to hurry!_

He began sniffing again and walked into the building. Someone sitting at a desk tried to stop him, but he just growled at them before continuing his search. When they tried to grab him he looked up and growled again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Buddy."

The person backed off, getting the warning loud and clear. Brian continued until he arrived at an elevator which the scent led into.

_Shit! I'm going to have to check each individual floor for any sign of Stewie._

He got on the elevator and pressed the button to go up to the second floor. The elevator started and stopped before opening its door to the chosen floor. Brian stepped out and sniffed the air.

_Well, it's not this floor._

He got back in the elevator and told it to take him to the third floor. Once there, he searched again.

_Nope._

He got back in and went to the next floor.

_Wrong._

Then the next.

_Damn! It's not this one either._

Then the next.

_For fuck's sake!_

Finally after traveling all the way to the ninth floor, Brian was once again able to pick up Stewie's scent.

_There you are you little pain in the ass._

He smirked and began following the scent again. It didn't take him long to trace it to a single door. He got up and was about to knock before his ears perked up at a disturbing sound.

"Ohhhhh, Roy. You have no idea how much I needed this."

"Anytime, Stewie. Maybe this time you'll actually let me have you completely?"

"Maybe."

Brian's blood began to boil.

 _Who does that fucker think he is messing around with_ my  _Stewie!_

He forgot about knocking. In his rage, he raised his foot and kicked the door as hard as he could, causing it to fly open. His eyes trained themselves on a man that looked to be in his mid-twenties, with brown hair, sitting on a couch, naked, with Stewie on his lap who was also naked. They both looked at him in shock.

"Br-Brian!?"

"Hey, Man! What the fuck is your pr…"

The man didn't get a chance to finish before Brian launched himself at him and bit down hard on his hand, which had appeared to be heading toward Stewie's groin. The man screamed in pain.

"Ahhhhhhhh! What the hell!?"

Brian grabbed him by the arms and pulled him away from the boy, tossing him to the ground before he began to wail on him with his fists.

"Don't! You! Ever! Touch! My! Stewie! Do! You! Hear! Me! You! Sorry! Son! Of! A! Bitch!"

The man was a bloody pulp, but Brian would have continued anyway if he hadn't felt someone grabbing his paw to stop him.

"Brian, stop! You're killing him!"

The dog whipped his head around to stare at the boy, teeth still bared. When he saw how concerned Stewie was, he began to calm down. He turned back to look at the man he had beaten. He was out cold, and he probably wouldn't be waking up for a while. Brian stood up and took a deep breath to bring his anger under control. When he was finally at a point where he could think clearly, he looked over at Stewie who just looked shocked and confused. The dog just shrugged.

"I didn't like him touching you."

Stewie scoffed at this.

"Well, obviously."

There was an awkward pause between them before the child broke the silence.

"W-Why are you here, Brian?"

The dog didn't say anything at first. He simply walked over to have a seat on the couch before motioning for Stewie to come have a seat. At this point he realized that Stewie was still naked, but that wasn't really a concern right now. He had to do this now.

"I came to bring you home, Stewie."

What did he just say? Sure, that was one of the reasons he was here, but that wasn't the primary reason. Why had he just lied right then?

Stewie sighed.

"Let me guess, you sniffed me out, didn't you?"

The dog nodded his head.

Stewie shook his head.

"You shouldn't have come after me, Brian. I was fine until you showed up, and I'll be fine once you're gone. I really just need to be away from you right now."

The boy motioned toward the door.

"I think you should go. You've already ruined this evening for me."

Brian knew that Stewie probably had wanted to just get away from him, but he never expected this level of hostility.

_No! I can't lose him now! I need to tell him the truth! There's no sense in hiding it anymore._

He looked down at the child firmly.

"No, Stewie. I won't go because I have some things I need to discuss with you, and I'm not leaving until we've discussed them all."

The child sighed in annoyance, but he could tell that the dog was being serious.

"Fine, but make it quick. If I hurry, there's another guy who lives down the street that I could probably hook up with tonight."

Brian felt his anger returning, but he quickly got it under control before he ended up messing up what was probably the last chance he'd ever have to have Stewie. He started talking.

"Stewie, I'm sorry about yesterday. I understand now that the way I acted was completely uncalled for and unfair to you. I should have listened to you, but instead, I couldn't accept the fact that you did indeed love me, but I did some thinking this morning, and I came to the conclusion that I'm alright with your feelings for me."

The child's cold expression seemed to soften a bit at these words. Brian continued.

"I…also came to another conclusion, one that was initially really hard to accept, but as I really thought about it, I realized that it really wasn't that big of a deal. I mean, it is a big deal. It's the probably the biggest deal I've ever had, but it wasn't something that I should be afraid of. Instead, I realized that I should embrace it and stop trying to run away from it because society tells me that I'm sick fuck for feeling the way I do."

Stewie grinned at this. He looked away, smiling shyly.

"And what was this conclusion you came to, Brian?"

Brian could tell that Stewie knew what he was going to say next, but that in no way lessened the impact of his words.

"I came to the conclusion that..."

He took the child's hand in both of his paws.

"I love you, Stewie."

The boy giggled and turned to look at the dog, now with a familiar gleam in his eye.

"You do?"

The dog nodded his head.

"More than anything."

Stewie giggled again.

"I…I told myself that I was done with you, that I didn't need you, but now…"

He looked at the dog who looked saddened by these words.

"Damn it! Why do I let you do this to me? Why can't I say no to you?"

The child wasn't angry, though, he was elated. This was his dream come true. The dog pulled him closer and leaned his head forward, slowly inching himself forward before making contact with the boy's lips. The kiss was tender and sweet and just all around wonderful. Stewie wrapped his arms around the dog's neck, pulling the canine down on top of him. Their naked bodies pressed against each other, and before long, they were grinding together. Brian pulled away from the kiss and moaned in satisfaction, but he quickly realized where this was going. He looked down at the child.

"Stewie, wait."

The boy stopped moving.

"What is it, Bry?"

The dog tried to sit up but couldn't bring himself to break the contact between their bodies. He gave up with barely a fight.

"Don't you think, I don't know, that maybe this is a little too soon?" I mean, I just admitted I loved not even five minutes ago, and we're already doing…"

He motioned toward their bodies.

"…this?"

The boy looked at him, confused.

"Well, yeah. I've wanted this for ages, Brian, and if you're game, I sure as hell am."

The dog thought about it for a second. This all felt like it was happening too fast, but at the same time, it didn't exactly feel wrong either. The boy began moving against him again, creating a wonderful friction between them. He moaned lowly and began moving again, too.

_Fuck it. I've kept Stewie waiting long enough. He deserves this after all I've put him through, and well, it's not like I won't be enjoying it to or anything, so what's the point in fighting it?_

He leaned down and kissed Stewie again, this time going deeper than before, pushing his tongue past the boy's lips and earning an adorable little gasp which he then swallowed hungrily. Pretty soon, Stewie followed suit, and their tongues clashed in a war born out of love and lust. After several minutes, they had to come up for breath. Once he had caught his breath, Brian leaned down and whispered huskily into the child's ear.

"I want you."

The boy shivered underneath him before speaking.

"I-I think Roy usually keeps a bottle of lube in his pocket."

Brian nodded his head and hopped off of the couch, dissatisfied that he had to break contact with the object of his affections, but too concerned with making sure that he didn't hurt Stewie to care. He located Roy's jeans on the ground and patted the pockets until he found what he was looking for. He reached into the pocket and retrieved the bottle before rejoining his lover. He sat down on the couch, and Stewie sat up as well, taking a spot between the dog's legs. Brian was already about half erect. He just needed a little extra help to get himself ready, and Stewie was just the boy for the job. The infant took a hold of the semi-erect member and began working it up and down.

"Mmmmmm. Fuck that's good."

The child laughed but didn't say anything, too focused on the task at hand to come up with a witty response to Brian's reaction at being touched by him for the first time. The dog lay down, mouth wide open, tongue hanging out, and leg twitching, everything working together to show how much he was enjoying his treatment. Once the dog was fully erect, Stewie took the member into his mouth and began bobbing his head up and down. Brian froze for a second, completely overwhelmed by the sensation, before beginning to buck his hips upwards and into the child's mouth.

"Ahhhhhh. Stewie. That's…that's just…wow!"

After several minutes he began to feel his climax approaching. He reluctantly pulled away from the child, fearing that if he didn't move things along quickly he wouldn't last too long during the main event. Stewie got the message and lay down on his back, spreading his legs so that Brian had proper access to his hole. The dog sat up and squirted some of the lube onto his fingers. He leaned over the child and placed a finger against Stewie's entrance.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Stewie?"

The boy nodded his head eagerly.

"Oh, yes. Please, Brian don't keep me waiting. I want this. I want you."

Satisfied with the infant's response, the dog slowly began to insert his finger into the boy's asshole. Almost immediately, he felt the child tense up around him. He looked up and saw that the toddler was grimacing in discomfort, but he showed no signs that he wanted the dog to stop. Brian leaned forward so that his face was inches away from Stewie's.

"You need to relax. Take long, slow, deep breaths, and try not to focus on the pain. Here…"

He tilted his head.

"Let me help."

He captured the boy's lips in a ferocious kiss before sliding his finger in further. For several seconds, Stewie didn't respond to the kiss, but it didn't take him long to start kissing back, making sure to follow the dog's advice about the breathing, which was no easy task with his mouth pressed up against the canine's, but it did provide a very good distraction from the pain he was currently experiencing. Before long, Brian had successfully inserted an entire finger into Stewie. He then began moving it around, trying to loosen the child up before going any further. He pulled away from their kiss to check on Stewie.

"How is it, Kid?"

Stewie wiggled around a little bit in discomfort.

"It's better, but it's still not exactly the greatest feeling in the world. I was expecting something a little more…"

At that moment, a surge of pleasure shot through his body as Brian's finger brushed against his prostate. His voice rose up into a squeal.

"P-Plllleeesssurrrabbble! Oh! Brian, right there!"

Seeing that Stewie was finally beginning to enjoy being penetrated for the first time, Brian squirted some lube onto another finger before pushing it in to join the finger that was already inside the infant. Stewie began to tense up again, so Brian took it slow, making sure to stroke the child's sweet spot to keep the experience mostly pleasurable. The boy began to writhe beneath him, making adorable little whimpering sounds as he was overwhelmed by the new and strange sensations Brian was awakening within him.

"Mmmmmm! Brian! That's right! Keep it right there!"

Before he even realized it, Brian had completely inserted his second finger into Stewie. He began to move them around to loosen the child up even further before beginning to scissor the hole to stretch it out. He kept this up until he was satisfied that he could fit inside Stewie without causing the child anymore pain. He pulled his fingers out, and Stewie moaned in displeasure. Brian laughed.

"One second, Stewie. We're almost there."

The boy nodded his head in understanding as he waited for the love his life to finally take him. Brian squirted the rest of the lube onto his paw and proceeded to rub it all over his cock until it was nice and slick all over. Once that was done, he grabbed Stewie by the ankles and raised him up so that the boy's asshole was level with his length. He gave the boy one last questioning look to make sure that this was alright with him. Stewie just smiled warmly at him and nodded his head.

"Do it, Brian. Make me yours."

With those words firmly in mind, the dog pushed forward, making one slow continuous thrust until his knot came into contact with the infant's entrance. He shut his eyes tightly and moaned loudly.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

It took him awhile to get used to the intense pleasure he was experiencing. It was unlike anything he had ever felt in a  _very_ good way. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked down at the boy beneath him who was breathing heavily, eyes practically rolled to the back of his head. After a minute, he looked at Brian.

"That's good. Now, move."

The dog immediately began thrusting in and out of the child slowly. It took everything within himself to not just pound away at the boy, but he wouldn't allow himself to risk hurting Stewie by doing something stupid like that too soon. The child was moaning beneath him, and the sounds were driving him crazy.

"Ahhhhhh! Fuck, Stewie! This is incredible!"

The boy began moving against him, urging him to speed up. Brian did so, gladly. He increased the speed of his thrusting, earning a satisfied grunt from the boy. Brian smirked.

"Mmmmmm! You like that, don't ya!"

The child's only response was a pleasure filled whimper.

"Mmmhmm!"

Brian leaned himself over the boy, and began fucking him even faster. The child squealed in delight and wrapped his arms around the dog's neck to pull him into a tight embrace.

"Ohhhhhh! Brian! Just like that! Just like that!"

The dog braced himself on his forearms and thrust upwards, striking the infant's sweet spot. The boy practically howled out in pleasure.

"Keep hitting me there! I need you to keep hitting me there!"

After several more thrusts, Brian nailed the boy's prostate again, this time making a mental note of the angle it took to reach it. He realigned himself and began frantically humping the boy, getting in solid hits against his prostate with each thrust. Stewie let go of the dog's neck and took a hold of the couch cushion he was lying on, completely overcome with the intense pleasure. He could barely stand it, and yet, he couldn't get enough of it.

"Ohhhhhhh!"

Brian's breathing was getting husky. He could feel his orgasm approaching. It wouldn't be long until he was done, but he had to make sure that Stewie was satisfied, too. He grabbed the boy's penis between his thumb and index finger and started to jerk him off. The child began bucking his hips into the dog's paw.

"Ohhhhhhh! Brian! I can't…you actually…Ohhh fuck, yeah!"

The dog kissed the boy passionately, pushing the boy over the edge. The penis in his paw spasmed , and Stewie cried out in ecstasy as the dog broke away from their kiss.

"Yes! Yes! Oh god yes!"

Brian felt Stewie's muscles constrict around his shaft. He got in a few more good thrusts before exploding into the child.

"Ahhhhhh! Stewie!"

The dog humped into the boy a few more times before pulling out and collapsing next to the infant. They both rode out their orgasms, savoring the incredible pleasure they had provided each other. Once they could think clearly again they wrapped their arms around each other, kissed, and fell asleep.

* * *

Brian awoke to find Stewie missing. He shot up in a panick.

"Stewie!? Stewie!?"

The boy appeared from behind the couch, now fully clothed, and tossed the dog a towel.

"I'm right here, Brian. Calm down. I was just cleaning myself up. Here."

He tossed the towel toward Brian.

"Clean yourself up. We were asleep for several hours, and if we don't hurry, we won't make it out of here before Roy wakes up, and I will not have you going to prison on assault charges. I finally have you, and there's no way in Hell that I'm going to lose you."

The dog listened to Stewie, took the towel, and made quick work with cleaning himself up. He laid the towel down and jumped off of the couch.

"Well, if you're ready, so am I. Come on, Kid. Let's go home."

The dog started walking toward the doorway but stopped when he heard Stewie.

"Brian."

The canine turned around and gave the boy a curious look. The child just smiled at him.

"Thank you."

The dog smiled back and walked back over to the infant to take his hand.

"No, Stewie. Thank you."

The two of them turned and left the room. Happy to finally be together.

* * *

By the time, Stewie and Brian arrived back home, it was really late. They walked inside, and weren't surprised to discover that everyone was already asleep. It was a couple of minutes until midnight, and both Stewie and Brian were extremely tired from the day's events despite the nap they had taken at Roy's apartment. They walked upstairs and were about to enter Stewie's room, but Brian stopped. He turned and looked at the door to Peter and Lois's room.

_Maybe I should let them know that Stewie is home._

He was torn away from his thoughts by the voice of his lover.

"Brian? What's wrong?"

The dog turned to look at him.

"Everybody was really worried about you when you took off, Stewie. Maybe we should let them know that you're ok."

The dog was about to begin walking toward Peter and Lois's room, but Stewie grabbed his paw.

"Please don't. Let's just go to bed together. They're already asleep anyway. A few more minutes of worry isn't going to hurt them."

The child was right, waking them now would just bring a lot of unnecessary commotion. All he really wanted to do right now was to be with Stewie, alone. He turned back around and smiled at the boy. The child smiled back and led him into the bedroom, their bedroom.

Midnight arrived, and along with it came the beginning of their first week as a couple. The first of many.


End file.
